Underlying Issues
by Krynnalexia
Summary: A new member has been added to team Gibbs temporarily to shrink them. What will happen when emotions run high and truths are revealed.PS I love all ncis members, this story centers on Gibbs Hiatus and Ziva BF Death issues. Sorry if I bash too much. Now completed.
1. Chapter 1

**NCIS**

**Underlying Issues**

**Chapter One**

Director Leon Vance shifted slightly in front of the giant plasma screen in MTAC. He and the communications coordinators were completely silent as the object of their attention continued to reprimand Vance for questioning his orders.

"That's an order, Leon. I don't want to hear another word about this. I want all of Agent Gibbs' team to participate," said the Secretary of the Navy sternly, "I don't care what Jethro likes. I have it on good authority that his team is unobtrusively suffering through a serious rough patch. Whatever these problems are, I want them dealt with. That team is the best I've got within the agency and I'm not about to let their petty differences and emotions ruin that. This is not a request, nor a debate, Leon."

Vance stood stiffly before the MTAC plasma screen, facing a very irate looking superior. The SEC-NAV had demanded his presence when Vance came into work. The SEC-NAV had ordered him to accept the change in staff. He was now in the process of trying to renegotiate his orders. SEC-NAV was assigning a new member to Gibbs team without consulting him or Gibbs on the matter. The Secretary of the Navy claimed that she was a therapist. She was to accompany them on all their cases and schedule sessions with everyone on the team weekly to talk about what she observed. This was an order and one that they would get fired for if it was disobeyed.

Leon Vance knew that Gibbs would not appreciate some newbie being added to the team without his knowledge. Jethro Gibbs prided himself on forming and creating his own team. He chose his own people based on his gut and nothing else was good enough. Adding a woman to the team that he hadn't met before hand was going to piss him off royally. The fact that she was a therapist would only make things worse. No member currently on team Gibbs talked openly about their past or their feelings, with the exception of a very hyper-active forensic scientist. This was going to be a nightmare.

Vance had tried to reason with the SEC-NAV about his concerns on this matter, but was being turned down. It was like talking to a brick wall. His opinions just weren't making it through.

Though Leon had to admit, anything that pissed off Gibbs made his day slightly more enjoyable. It annoyed him that Gibbs always got his way, but he couldn't complain about the results. He just didn't agree with Gibbs choices and decisions all the time. He still didn't understand his need to have Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo on his team. That was just one of many things he didn't agree with Gibbs on.

Nodding his head in defeat, "I'll inform them immediately of her arrival and new placement on the team. When can we be expecting her?" Vance asked, trying to keep his voice even and free of annoyance.

"She should be there within the hour. Though I'll warn you, she has a habit of arriving early. The art of surprise is one of her favorite ways to gauge a new target." The Secretary of the Navy said with a grin.

"Target, Sir? I thought you said she was a therapist."

"She is Leon. She has been with the FBI for three years. She is used to struggling with the armed forces, police departments and federal agencies. She doesn't receive very welcoming greetings and so she has taken on a military-like approach to her work. Trust her instincts. Anyhow, she should be there soon. Her name is Special Agent Jessica Keller."

"Anything else I should know about her, Sir?" Leon asked, rubbing his brow at the onset of a headache.

"Yes, Director Vance. She is to be given a NCIS badge and weapon. Though she was not trained for field work, she is still to be treated as a member of the MCRT until this evaluation is over. She will be assigned to NCIS until she feels that the issues surrounding Gibbs team are alleviated."

"Yes sir. I'll see that they follow this order to the letter."

"You are also to participate, Leon. I don't want to hear that you've been ducking out of sessions either. Understood?"

Leon let out a big sigh. He didn't think that he would have to be part of this. What issues did his superiors think he had?

"Understood, Sir."

The SEC-NAV made a kill motion with his hand and the connection died. Leon was left staring at a blank screen. He turned to thank the MTAC coordinator and left the room. He stood at the railing, gazing down on the squad room below. He could see that Gibbs team had all arrived on time. He could see Special Agent Timothy McGee sitting at his desk. He looked busy, typing away at his keyboard. The young man was probably catching up on a case report or looking into a cold case until they had something more current to investigate.

Agent McGee was his pride and joy of NCIS. He saw Tim's efficiency and initiative refreshing. Leon thought that all special agents should be like Timothy McGee. He was good with computers and well versed in most forms of technology. He was a good agent. He was obedient, unlike his counterpart Agent DiNozzo.

He turned his attention to the desk directly next to Tim's. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head and his feet up on his desk. His fingers were laced together and he was currently engaged in a childish banter with his partner, Ziva David. He smiled wide and laughed obnoxiously.

Tony was Director Vance's least favorite agent. In fact, Agent DiNozzo was Leon's least favorite person in all of NCIS. Vance found him annoying, disobedient, and he was lacking in technical prowess. He was insubordinate. He was a clown, a goof off, and he didn't have the drive that McGee did to go the extra mile. He was the least worthy of being a special agent in Leon's eyes, and yet he was the one Gibbs fought the hardest for to keep. He would never understand why.

Vance watched as Probationary Special Agent Ziva David threw a pencil and then a stapler at Agent DiNozzo. Tony caught them both and pretended as though neither act bothered him in the least. Although in his case, it probably wasn't pretending. Not much bothered the hot shot agent. He simply laughed louder and made some childish comment that Vance couldn't hear from his current location.

Ziva David was a good agent. She had a lot to learn, but she showed a great deal of potential. She was studying to become a citizen and then would be a full time Special Agent on team Gibbs. She was strong, powerful, and stealthy. As a former Mossad Operative, she was already well trained in combat. She didn't need help with target practice or hand to hand fighting. She wasn't as computer literate as McGee, but she was better with computers than DiNozzo. She at least attempted to work on her weaknesses.

He then watched as the last member of the team strode into the squad room. He had a cup of his ever present black coffee in his hand. He had probably just come from visiting Abby in her lab. She was another member of Gibbs team, though not an agent. She was the overzealous forensic scientist that helped them crack their cases. She was always his first stop of the day.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat heavily in his desk chair and opened his email. The second he entered the squad room, the banter between Tony and Ziva stopped. They gave each other warning looks and then proceeded to look busy. He knew that Gibbs was aware of exactly what had been going on a minute ago, but he said nothing.

Vance walked casually down the stairs and entered their domain. He didn't even glance at DiNozzo as he walked past his desk. He couldn't stand the man. He gave Ziva a kind glance and smiled proudly at McGee. He walked up to stand in front of Gibbs desk and cleared his throat to get his lead agent's attention.

Gibbs looked up at Director Vance and knew that whatever he wanted, Gibbs wasn't going to like. Vance never brought good news to him when he was bringing it in person. It was either something he was going to hate or something he didn't want to do. The last couple of times Leon Vance came to him in person, he told him that his team was going to be split up. Then he was told that Tony was not to return from his duty as agent afloat. After that, their relationship was constantly strained and it only went downhill from there. He decided to keep things civil for the time being.

His facial expression was even and showed no kindness. He simply asked, "What can I do for you, Leon?"

Vance, annoyed by Gibbs complete lack of respect for him, pursed his lips in a unappreciative scowl. If Gibbs wasn't the best damn agent NCIS had to offer, Vance would've fired him a long time ago when he first took up the position as Director.

"I thought I should warn you that SEC-NAV is sending us a new agent. She's going to be joining you and your team for a while."

Vance waited patiently for the explosion, clasping his hands in front of him. Even though Gibbs was his subordinate, he was still rather intimidating, but he didn't let it show. Vance stood his ground and when it came, he didn't flinch or take a step back.

Gibbs did, indeed, explode. He stood up abruptly and came around his desk in a flash, forcing his way into Vance's personal space. At first Gibbs fumed silently. He simply glared at Vance, his eyes screaming their indignation at the idea of adding a new agent to his team without his knowledge. It was his job to form his team. If he had felt that another member was needed, he would have seen to it. As it was, he didn't feel that adding another member to the team was necessary.

"Why?" Gibbs demanded, he voice low and controlled.

"Apparently, he's aware that there are a few problems with your team as of late." Gibbs screwed up his face at this. It was obvious he didn't agree with that statement, "There are issues that he feels need to be dealt with. She will be joining us as an NCIS agent, but she's also a therapist. She's going to be observing your team. We're all to participate when she schedules weekly sessions with us."

Gibbs said nothing, but he squinted his eyes at the last part. He hated therapy and the people who studied it. He didn't want to talk about his feelings or his past, and he didn't want to have to explain why he did things the way he did them.

"Yes, you heard me right, Gibbs. She's a therapist. She's going to be observing your entire team: Miss Scuito, Dr. Mallard, Mr. Palmer, and myself included."

Gibbs glowered a little more forcefully at Leon, stepping a bit closer.

"It didn't come from me, Gibbs. I had nothing to do with this. SEC-NAV made this decision based on some insider information I know nothing about. As much as I disagree with this, he said that this was a direct order. We don't have a choice in the matter."

Vance heard DiNozzo huff and complain adamantly behind him. He watched as Gibbs eyes flicked briefly toward his Senior Field Agent with concern. He wasn't sure what that was about, but those small mysteries about Gibbs and his team were bound to come up soon anyhow. Perhaps having everyone spill there guts wasn't such a bad idea after all. Maybe this would help shed some light on the more annoying things that Vance hadn't figured out about his MCR team.

Ziva made no noise on the subject. She was former Mossad, she followed orders regardless of how she felt about them and he knew that McGee would rise to the occasion just to please Gibbs and Vance no matter what. If it was an order, he could count on McGee to do exactly as he was told.

"When does she get here?" Gibbs asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose as the headache behind his eyes grew worse.

"She should be here shortly. I would ask all of you to be polite and don't make us look like fools. I expect you all to uphold the image of this agency."

Gibbs cocked his head at this and returned to his seat. He took one last sip of his coffee and then dropped the now empty cup into the trash can beside his desk. He slammed his fingers on his keyboard in frustration, bringing up the last cold case he was working on.

Before Director Vance had the opportunity to leave, they all heard the tell tale ding of the elevator. The group looked up to see several people exit and move on to their destinations. The last person coming out was a woman. She was average in height and well built from what they could tell. She was slim and had long blond hair. She took her time walking toward them, her heeled boots clomping on the carpeted floor. She was clad in slim fitting jeans with a butterfly on the front pocket and a simple blue blouse. A small cross hung around her neck and swayed as she walked. She stopped just outside their work space and smiled warmly at them.

"Hello. I'm looking for Director Vance." She said, addressing everyone in Gibbs' work sector.

Her voice was soft and pleasant to the ear. She had a pretty smile and a kind disposition. She tried not to appear like a threat. Most people hated therapists. It was one of the downsides to her job. She walked into a room and most people tend to walk right out. It was almost like they flee from the room in fact.

Vance stepped forward, only to have Agent DiNozzo cut in front of him.

"Hi, I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." He said cheerfully, reaching out to shake her hand, which she took with a grin at his forwardness.

Vance tapped him on the shoulder and glared at him. Tony, realizing a little too late at what he had done, backed away and resumed sitting behind his desk quietly.

Director Vance shook his head and prayed for the day that he could ship DiNozzo off to the farthest NCIS office. He heard Spain was looking for a new field agent. He turned once again to the woman in front of him. He knew this was going to get bad as the day went on. He didn't have to like it, but he was going to pretend to. He extended his hand to shake hers. She accepted it immediately, her smile still held in place. As she shook his hand, she made it a point to make eye contact with the other people in the room. These were most likely the people that she was to observe.

"I'm Director Vance."

"It's nice to finally meet you. I have been reading about you and this team for quite some time. I have also heard a lot about you and this team. I look forward to working with you." She said, her attention returning to the man directly in front of her.

"Yes, as do we. Let me introduce you to the members of the team you'll be joining. This is Special Agent Timothy McGee. Probationary Agent Ziva David. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."

"Hello. I hope to learn a lot from you while I'm here."

"I bet." Gibbs said quietly from his seat, but she heard him. She smirked at his remark and walked around Vance and forward to greet him.

"You must be Special Agent Gibbs." She said, holding her hand out to shake his hand.

He looked at it for a moment. He wasn't going to make this easy for her. He then ignored her hand and looked back up at her.

"Didn't catch your name."

"I see you really don't like outsiders, Agent Gibbs. Or is it that you just don't like therapists?" There was another moment of silence, "That's alright," she withdrew her hand and sweetly answered his question. "Special Agent Jessica Keller."

Gibbs looked to Leon and the two shared a look of annoyance. It was one of the few times that Vance and Gibbs ever agreed on anything. There was silence and then Vance decided that they should all get on with their work.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Make sure that she meets the good doctor and Miss Scuito. Agent Keller, I will expect an email when you have scheduled sessions. Have a good day."

She nodded in response and they all watched as the Director bailed on them. She turned back to look at her new team and sighed. She had been briefed by Special Agent Fornell all about this team. Their dynamic was usually carefree and good natured. They had the highest success rate of closing cases and the entire team was highly regarded by most of the fellow agencies.

Apparently, in the past month or so, there seemed to be a rift forming between a few of the members and the team wasn't performing as well as it should. She would have to be quick. These individuals didn't take kindly to strangers in their midst.

"I'll just use one of the desks there at the end if that's alright with you, Agent Gibbs?" She made sure to form the sentence as a request. She had the feeling that he liked to dictate. His body language was that of a leader…a strong, driving force. He didn't like people making decisions without going through him first. She decided it was wise to give him that courtesy.

He simply nodded and kept his eyes on her as she moved. She heard a cell phone ring and stopped mid step. She watched as Gibbs answered with a curt 'Gibbs.' He listened intently and the others were already grabbing their bags and holstering their weapons.

"Grab your gear. We got a dead Petty Officer in Arlington Virginia. Tony, gas the truck. David, call Ducky. Let's go." Gibbs gave out his orders and then headed for the elevator.

The team moved swiftly she noticed. They were prepared for him. They had already anticipated his moves and orders. They were half way through their tasks before he even finished his sentence. The team was a well oiled machine. As far as their job was concerned, she didn't see a problem. There must be something deeper that the SEC-NAV wanted her to check into. This was, after all, only her first day. New ideas on their discord would come to light as the weeks went on.

She followed them to the truck and found that there was not enough room for her. Gibbs caved with an over exaggerated huff and the pair of them took the sedan to the crime scene, while the rest of his team drove there in the truck. She kept quiet throughout the entire ride there after several attempts at converstation. She learned that he didn't like to engage in even polite chit chat while his mind was on a case. This would certainly prove to be a very educational assignment. She was looking forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this chapter was so short, but as the scene has changed, the chapter must change. Anyhow…not much to say here. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 2**

They arrived at the crime scene in record time, thanks to Agent Gibbs radical driving. If she hadn't grown up around two older brothers that craved speed, she would've been sick by the end of their ride. She stepped out without any trouble at all much to Gibbs dismay. He had hoped to rattle her a little at least. The fact that it didn't bugged him. Was she unshakable?

He walked away from her and toward the truck where the rest of his team were gathered. They were waiting for him and his instructions. Gibbs walked around the body of the dead Petty Officer. He was crumpled against the trunk of a tree in the front yard of an average split level home. He was clad in his dress whites, though his cover seemed to be missing. She could make out several rips and tears in the fabric, each stained with blood. They were minor lacerations from what she could see. The knife that had been used was protruding from his mid section. Most likely, that was the cause of his death, but only the M.E. could make that call. The second she thought about it, the M.E. and his assistant came up to the scene and knelt down beside their newest charge.

"Sorry I'm late, Jethro. Mr. Palmer got us lost again. Hope I didn't miss anything."

The medical examiner had a Scottish lilt in his English accent. It was quite charming, she mused. He dug through his black bag and thanked the younger man when he handed him what he'd been looking for. Dr. Mallard inserted the liver probe into the dead Petty Officer.

For the first time since their arrival, Gibbs spoke, "What do we got, Duck?"

She stayed back, making sure she didn't impede their work. She was very unfamiliar with the forensic part of an investigation. Her forte was interrogation and questioning witnesses. She focused on what they were doing so she could learn, however.

"Well, as I've only just arrived, Jethro, I don't know anything yet. Give me a minute."

They waited patiently for the liver probe to do its job and at the beep, the older man spoke again. Agent Gibbs had waited by the body silently. His team was standing just behind him. Agents DiNozzo and McGee seemed to be having a somewhat friendly converstation, all the while Agent David making heated responses to whatever it was they were talking about. At first glance, you would've thought it was all just friendly banter, but Keller sensed a little edge to her comments. It was something to be explored later.

"Time of death, Duck?" Gibbs asked, his notepad in hand and his pen hovered over it in anticipation.

Dr. Mallard pulled the liver probe from the body and read the digital read out. "I would say that our dear Petty Officer expired approximately twelve hours ago. That would make time of death between 22:00 and 22:30 last night."

"Cause of death?" Agent Gibbs said, moving on.

Agent Keller grinned. Gibbs was very narrow minded on the job. When there was a case, she was sure that he did little else until it was solved.

"At first glance I would venture to guess that large military knife sticking out of his abdomen was the primary cause of death. Though I'll know much more when we get him home."

Without having to be told, the assisstant, Mr. Palmer, rose, "I'll get the gurney Doctor."

The young man left to carry out his task. The main team stepped forward only slightly, awaiting their orders. Gibbs turned and faced them.

"Tony, sketch and shoot. McGee, bag and tag. David, go talk to the witness that found him. Then canvass the neighborhood. Someone had to see something."

They moved without a word to do what they were instructed. Gibbs looked at Agent Keller and then turned without saying a word to her, as though she weren't really there. That didn't surprise her. She had expected poor treatment and alienation. She was a stranger to them and strangers were not welcomed. She was also there to observe them. That in itself made her an outcast. She simply stepped to the side giving Gibbs' team room to work.

She spent her time watching them. She didn't miss the way that Gibbs gave out assignments. He used Agent DiNozzo's first name. They were obviously close. The other agents he addressed using their surnames. There was nothing wrong with this of course, but it was interesting to see the difference in how he treated his teammates. There was room to explore there.

She noticed throughout that morning that Agent David kept to herself. She had been told much about this legendary team. They had a 98% solve rate for the cases their team caught. Ziva had been a member of the team since the former Agent Caitlynn Todd died. She was accepted rather quickly. Now, it seemed that there was a rift between her and the other agents, mainly Special Agent DiNozzo. This would need to be looked into further. They would joke, but some of the jokes seemed far more vindictive. Ziva would give him nasty looks and then return to her work, making sure to face away from him.

Agent McGee was very into his work. Any jokes or forms of conversation made by his colleague usually were ignored for the most part but, he would join in occasionally as he bagged evidence. Agent DiNozzo makes it hard to do just that. McGee and him seem to get along for the most part, but when Agent DiNozzo called Agent McGee 'Probie', McGee seemed to be hold in his contempt. Jessica saw it as brotherly teasing, but she assumed that McGee didn't see it that way. Perhaps that should be rectified. It was minor, but she could see it turning into something bigger along the way.

Jimmy Palmer didn't say much at all. He listened to Dr. Mallard's anecdotes of his youth with a smile, but she saw him steal glances at Agent DiNozzo once or twice. He even eyed Gibbs nervously a few times as though he wanted to talk or ask him something. He didn't seem like a part of the team at all to the others. He looked like he really wanted to be.

She also witnessed Gibbs eye his senior field agent warily when Tony sneezed. She was curious, but didn't ask. It was just a sneeze. She didn't understand the worry she saw in those steely, blue eyes. It was another question she would bring up at their sessions. At the moment, it wasn't important.

She turned when she heard footsteps approach, "Jethro has just informed me that we have a new team member. I am the medical examiner, my dear. I am Dr. Mallard."

"Special Agent Jessica Keller. Ducky?" She asked bluntly.

"Ah, yes. It was a nickname that I was given in my youth. Most of my friends call me that. You are welcome to as well, Miss Keller."

"Just call me Jess if you like, Ducky."

They shook hands politely. He had a firm handshake. He was kind hearted and talkative. He smiled at her and then left to drive the body back to headquarters. She would have to formally meet Jimmy Palmer back at NCIS she supposed.

An hour later they were all on their way back to the Navy Yard. They returned to their desks after sending all the evidence from the crime scene to the forensics lab and giving their reports to Gibbs.

Agent Keller sat at her desk quietly and wrote her report, making notes on her laptop. She was writing up her questions to ask during their first session. She chose a date, next day at noon, and sent the email to each person on her list. She had a feeling that Gibbs was a more direct person. She stood and walked over to him. She waited patiently in front of him after the third cleared throat went ignored. She would wait until he acknowledged her.

Finally he looked up, "You have something to say, Agent Keller?"

"Yes, actually. I wanted your attention and you wouldn't give it to me, Agent Gibbs. That's fine. I have played this game with others before, including Agent Fornell." She smiled when he looked up surprised, "I'll wait as long as it takes."

He nodded, "Good to know. What do you want?"

"I came over here to tell you that our first team session will be tomorrow at noon, Agent Gibbs. I would think it's okay to bring some lunch. The session should be about an hour long. I sent an email to the Director and all the other participating members."

"Why didn't you just send me an email?" He asked, feigning annoyance.

She grinned, "You demand that everything be brought to you directly, Agent Gibbs. I highly doubt you check your email for anything."

Tony practically choked on his jelly donut. McGee seemed genuinely surprised by her comment and Ziva simply grinned. It was very rare for someone to read Gibbs so well.

Agent Jessica Keller returned to her seat, but before sitting down she said, "If it's possible, I'd like to formally meet Abby Scuito and Jimmy Palmer before our first session. I would hate for them to be unprepared. If it's okay with you, perhaps you could introduce me to them this afternoon?" Again she formed the sentence as a request rather than a statement.

Gibbs nodded his head without looking at her. He was silent for some time while they all worked on their own things. He watched his team. Over the last month he had noticed differences in his agents. Ziva had been rescued and he thought that would mend the friendship between her and Tony. It apparently hadn't. Even he had to admit that he was still angry at her for trying to make him choose between her and his senior field agent. Tony had been with him the longest, even longer than Stan Burley. He couldn't and wouldn't choose her or anyone else over Tony. That was just the way it was. He did, however, appreciate her and her skills. She was a good agent, as was Tim.

This nonsense had to stop. He couldn't take his team being split up again. What was he going to do? He needed time to think.

When he was finally fed up, he stood abruptly and started heading for the elevator.

"Going for coffee.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next morning, Agent Gibbs was surprised to see Agent Keller waiting for him.

"Agent Gibbs. Good Morning."

He didn't say anything. He sipped his coffee and sat down at his desk. He looked over Tony, McGee and David's reports before even looking at her. He hadn't been down to see Abby since yesterday. He had agreed to take Agent Keller to see them the day before, but hadn't actually done it. He had made her wait. He imagined Abby was probably angry with him for not seeing her. It was time he made his way down. He picked up the Caf-Pow he bought for her off his desk.

He stood and started for the elevator. He looked back at Agent Keller briefly and wiggled a finger at her, "Come on."

She put down her laptop and followed quickly behind him. She almost didn't make it before the elevator doors shut. They rode in complete silence and she was taken by surprise when he slammed his hand on the stop button. This was completely unexpected.

"Why are you really here? Did Vance send for you?" Gibbs demanded.

She couldn't speak. It was dark, the only light coming from the running lights around the floor of the car. The walls seemed to be closing in all around her. It was the one thing she couldn't seem to get over no matter what she did.

Claustrophobia had always been a problem for her. It was sad, she thought, considering she was a therapist. She should've been able to overcome her fear, but now it closed in on her. It was more than she could bear. She tried to ignore the feeling of anxiety growing in the pit of her stomach. She faced him and tried to concentrate on his eyes.

"Not Vance, Sec-Nav called for me. He said that he's gotten reports from several people stating that there was a problem within your unit. I'm merely here to help you resolve the problems that are currently plaguing your team. Once I'm done, I'll return to my team at the FBI."

"You lying to me?"

"No, why?"

"You're sweating, Agent Keller?" Gibbs asked, noticing the perspiration on her forehead.

She wiped her sweat away and stood tall. It was a lot harder than she thought to hide her fear. They were in an elevator. She could have handled the ride down, but stopped in one like this unnerved her.

"Then what is it?" He said, stepping closer to her.

She started to hyperventilate and he suddenly understood. She was afraid of small spaces. He turned and started the elevator up again. He turned back to her and took her face in his hands. He turned her face to him and checked her eyes. Her obvious fear brought out the father instincts in him.

"You okay?"

"Uh…yeah. I'll be fine. Thank you, Agent Gibbs. I appreciate you doing that. You're a very observant man."

"It's my job."

"Yes it is."

The elevator dinged as they reached the correct floor. The doors opened and they were pelted with loud, techno music. She grinned and composed herself before entering the forensic lab.

"Gibbs! What's this about attending a therapy session? I don't want to. Can't you get me out of it?" Abby asked rather quickly, bouncing on her four inch platform heels.

"Abbs. We're all attending. If I can't get out of it, you can't get out of it."

"Man, this therapist is probably gonna give Director Vance all the ammo he needs to split up our team again. I can't take that a second time, Gibbs. I'll quit." She assured him.

"I wouldn't want that, Miss Scuito." Jessica finally spoke up.

"Oh…um….who are you?"

"The therapist."

"Oh….well, then I'll tell you. If you try to split us all up, I'll hunt you down. I'm one of the few people in the world that can kill you and never leave a trace of evidence behind."

"Do you threaten people often, Miss Scuito?" Jessica asked, not taking any offense to anything she was saying.

Abby suddenly looked panic stricken.

"Don't worry, Miss Scuito. I'm not here to break up your team. There are just a few issues that need to be fixed and then I'll be on my way."

Abby seemed content with that and then turned to walk away. Agent Keller stopped her.

"I have been most anxious to meet you, Miss Scuito, mostly because I enjoy reading about your work. Agent Fornell has teased me with stories of your discoveries during cases." Jessica paused, before continuing. She was taking a big risk with her career if what she was about to say ever got out, "I also wanted to apologize."

That got both Abby and Gibbs attention. "Apologize for what? I don't even know you."

Agent Keller sighed and took a deep breath. She knew she shouldn't, but she felt that it was her responsibility to continue, "I wanted to apologize for my brother, Charles Sterling."

"Sterling? That psycho is your brother?" Abby exclaimed.

Jessica stepped back slightly. She expected anger and maybe a little unreasonable blame on her part, but not the look of murder that she saw in Abby's eyes.

"That creep almost got Tony locked away forever. He almost killed me. You think that I'm going to talk to you about my feelings and my past?"

"Abbs, calm down." Gibbs said, holding onto his surrogate daughter.

"Calm down? Calm down? She shouldn't even have been left in this building. What if she's just here to get revenge for her brother?"

"I assure you that I'm not. He let us all down. We never thought that he was capable of doing what he did. I've read all about your team. Agent DiNozzo doesn't seem the type to commit murder. I wouldn't have ever thought that. My brother was disturbed. I'm very sorry for the pain and suffering my brother caused."

"Gibbs." Abby said, turning to look at him sternly.

He looked at Agent Keller for a long moment. He saw sincerity in her eyes. She was nervously moving her fingers, fearing retribution. He saw the way her brow furrowed in dismay at not being forgiven.

"I believe her Abby."

"What?"

"Abby." He warned with his eyes that this conversation was over.

"Okay. I'll be at the session as scheduled. That doesn't mean that I have to talk to you now." She said, and with that, she stalked into her office.

"Well, that didn't go at all like I thought it would." Agent Keller admitted and they left together.

They made there way to autopsy. She had yet to formally meet Palmer. She was quiet. She felt so bad about what happened. She hadn't wanted Abby to hate her. She had wanted her to accept an apology. Jessica really did mean well.

"Why did you only apologize to Abby?" Gibbs asked curiously.

"I will say my apologies to Agent DiNozzo in due time. I knew that Agent DiNozzo is an experienced federal agent and I'm sure that he no longer thinks about that whole mess. I met Miss Scuito once at a forensic conference. She was so full of energy. She was happy and carries her feelings on her shoulders. I really and truly envied her. When I heard about what Charles had done, I thought of her immediately. I had no doubt that she would have taken that betrayal the worst. I just wanted her to know that our family did not condone what he did."

Gibbs watched her in silence. There was more to this therapist than he originally thought. She wasn't some perfect woman who fixed everyone else problems. She had demons of her own.

They got off at autopsy and entered to find Ducky and Palmer hovered over the body of the Petty Officer. This time the man was naked and more pale than the day before.

"Ah, Jethro. I was expecting you yesterday before you left. I see you brought Miss Keller with you. How are you, my dear?"

"Very good, Doctor. I came down to meet Mr. Palmer. We didn't get to talk yesterday." She smiled.

Jimmy looked up at the mention of his name. Not many people came to see him. They usually came to see Dr. Mallard or ask about a victim. He walked toward her, his hand outstretched. It was still gloved and bloody. He nervously pulled it off when he noticed the disgusted look on her face.

They shook, "Don't get excited, Mr. Palmer. Though it is kinda gross, I don't mind. You were busy after all. I'm Agent Keller."

"Oh, hi. It's nice to meet you. You're here to shrink us, right?"

She giggled at the term and nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"Cool."

"Cool?" Gibbs questioned incredulously.

"Yeah….well…see as a child…I um….I went to therapy for…" Palmer started to stutter at the hard look that Gibbs was impaling him with, "You know….I should probably get back to…"

Jimmy walked away and made himself busy with the body. Ducky smirked and returned to his desk, grabbed a folder and then returned.

"My results from the autopsy, Jethro. He was poisoned."

"Poisoned? With what?"

"Mercury."

"That cause of death?"

"Yes, the stab wound was done post mortem."

Agent Keller listened vaguely to the autopsy report, but she was more interested in Jimmy. He was being left out. He was intimidated by Gibbs and worse, Dr. Mallard simply smiled. She wasn't sure what to make of all that. She was sure and certain that Jimmy was hurting. He was hiding it very well, but there was a serious issue here that needed to be mended.

"Thank you for allowing me a rare glimpse into the world of autopsy. Agent Gibbs, I didn't have much time to talk to your Director. I would like to get a read on him before our session today. I'll see you in conference room three. You have work to do."

Gibbs waved a hand at her as Dr. Mallard continued. She left and made her way up to Director Vance's office. She certainly had her work cut out for her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Agent Keller waited in conference room three. They were late. It was half past noon. At 12:40, the eight of them came in and sat down. They were staring at her and they didn't look happy. Vance didn't seem to care. She read the hate in their eyes and knew immediately what it was all about.

"I see Miss Scuito has told you about our conversation in the lab earlier today."

Their glares intensified if that was even possible. This was not the way she wanted to start the session. Good grief.

"I'm sorry that my familiar relationship with him angers you all, but that is neither here nor there. We're not here to discuss me or my brother. I have been sent here to help you."

"How? By learning our deepest, darkest secrets and using them against us?" Abby voiced.

"No. SEC-NAV sent me here because this team has issues that must be addressed. I have seen many in the short time I have been here. In order for this team to remain as it is and work as it always has, those issues need to be dealt with. That's why I'm here. I'm here to help you. When I'm done and satisfied with the results, I'll be going back to the FBI."

There was silence. She opened her laptop and opened the first file on her pile.

"I want to talk about you all. The way these sessions are going to work is simple. I will be asking you questions and we may even do a few exercises. I also want you to talk…not just to me, but to each other. It is the most effective way to address these issues. You may ask me or anyone else here questions as well. I want this to be a room of truth and understanding for the time we are together. Whatever lessons you learn from this, I hope you take them with you and think on them."

Silence again. Getting them to acknowledge or talk was going to be like pulling teeth.

"Agent Keller. We have all been briefed. Can we get on with this please?" Vance said.

She pulled his file and opened it on her lap. This was as good a place to start as any. "I've spoken to SEC-NAV. I was aware that you and only you were present during the briefing. You waited until the last minute to inform your Major Case Squad about me until just before my arrival. I could see it in their faces. Can you explain this?"

"I was only informed of all this just before your arrival. It was all very last minute."

"Director Vance, you were briefed early that morning. You called SEC-NAV to argue his ruling later that day. You only informed them of my addition to the team moments before I arrived. Why did you wait so long?"

Leon was quiet. He didn't know how to explain himself. Did he dare admit that every time he got the jump on Gibbs it gave him some sort of satisfaction? He liked to see Gibbs squirm under pressure. He liked to anger him. But why?

"Do you often hold back important information regarding Gibbs and his team?" Keller asked, chewing on the end of her pen.

"Are you kidding? He jumps at the chance to throw us off our game." Tony said, his distain heard loud and clear.

"Really? In what way, Agent DiNozzo?" She pressed him to elaborate.

"Yes. In what way, Agent DiNozzo?" Vance asked, lacing his fingers together and glaring at the young agent.

"Director Vance, let me warn you now. There will be no repercussions from telling the truth or voicing opinions in this room during these sessions or afterward. So please…stop trying to intimidate your agents." She warned.

That surprised the group. No one ever caught on to how the new director tried to intimidate them and even Gibbs. He did everything possible to cause them trouble. No one ever saw him for the creep he really was towards them. They all thought he was such a nice guy. And maybe he was to others.

"Go on, Agent DiNozzo." She said.

"The first day he was here, he split us up. He claimed it was for a mission."

Vance interrupted him, "It was. We were trying to find the mole in NCIS. I put the three most likely candidates with Agent Gibbs. I knew he would be able to figure out which one it was. I had faith in him."

"Yeah, but my being put on the USS Seahawk as Agent Afloat was not part of the mission. There was no real reason for me being there. You separated me from the team and you weren't going to bring me back." Tony spat at him, raising his voice a bit, but remaining in his seat.

"He has a point, Leon." Gibbs said, "I asked you before if sending DiNozzo away was punishment. I thought then that you gave me a load of crap when you denied it. You weren't going to even tell me that you intended to make Tony stay there permanently. I had to fight to get him back. I would love to know the real reason you sent him afloat."

"Is this true, Director?" Keller asked, horrified that the Director had gone to such lengths.

"Yes. I have my reasons."

"Let's hear them. Did Agent DiNozzo do something that demanded he be transferred? Was he not a good agent?"

"No, DiNozzo is a good agent in some ways."

"Did he disobey an order or do something to completely disgrace NCIS?"

"No."

"Then why, Director? For what reason did you feel the need to disband the team without even telling the team leader?"

All eyes were on Leon. He could lie, but he knew that a trained therapist and Gibbs would see right through it.

"It was a number of things. First of all he is a goof off. His attitude and juvenile personality is not becoming of an NCIS Special Agent."

"Oh come on!" Tony exclaimed.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs said sternly, causing the young man to sit.

"Shutting up, Boss."

That caught Keller's attention and she made note to come back to it later.

"As you can see, he's insubordinate. He talks back, he disobeys direct orders unless it comes from Gibbs. He has a problem doing as _**I**_ ask. He has absolutely no computer skills and frankly, I think that he pulls the team down. I don't think he's a credit to the team."

"Anything else?" She pressed, taking note of the utter rage on Gibbs face as well as Abby's and Dr. Mallard's.

"I heard about what happened in Baltimore."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Gibbs said quietly.

"Look, what happened in Baltimore is none of your business!" Tony yelled, standing.

"None of my business, Agent DiNozzo? Of course it's my business. It tells me what kind of agent you are. It tells me a lot about what kind of man you are."

"I'm a good cop, Director. I'm a good agent." Tony said confidently.

Director Vance said nothing more. He and Agent DiNozzo just stared at each other. Agent Keller made a few more notes on her laptop and decided to move on.

"Ok, it seems that Director Vance does not trust all of his employees." She began.

"I do. I just don't particularly find Agent DiNozzo to be the finest agent here at NCIS like Gibbs claims he is. Personally, I would like him off my main team."

"What are your thoughts on Agent David?"

"She is very competent. She still has a lot to learn, but she is a quick study. She does what she can to expand her skills and since she was Mossad trained she is a skilled fighter. It also helps that she speaks a dozen languages."

"And Agent McGee?"

"He is what all our agents should be like."

Tim puffed up at this. He was usually told when he did a good job, but most of the time Tony got the praise from Gibbs. It made him feel good to be getting the better praise for once. He sneered at Tony when he saw his partner cross his arms childishly.

"Director, how long have you been with this team?"

"It's going on two years."

"Have you ever spent time with them outside of work?"

"No, Agent Keller, I have not. I don't see the need to spend more time with them than necessary. I spend all day at work with them, my off time is reserved for my family."

"I understand that. Family is important. Perhaps you would understand them more, if you took the time to learn more about them, and I don't mean checking into their past. You have a solid family waiting for you when you get home. Most of your team feels that this is their family." Vance was silent once more.

"Just let me give you a glimpse into what I'm talking about. Agent Gibbs lives alone. I'm not quite certain what his family situation is like, but I do know that he has been married four times and is currently divorced. Agent DiNozzo lives alone. He has very little contact with his family and is unmarried. Miss Scuito lives alone and rarely sees her parents or siblings accept on holidays. She is also unmarried. Agent McGee lives alone and usually only has contact with his sister, Sarah. He also has no current spouse. Agent David lives alone, seeing as her family lives in Tel Aviv. She is not attached to anyone either. Dr. Mallard lives alone now that his mother has passed away. I also know that he is unmarried. Mr. Palmer, also unmarried, lives alone as well. Are you seeing a pattern here, Director Vance?"

"What's your point, Agent Keller?"

"My point is this, Director. I understand that you're used to working a certain way. It is of course your decision to form your Major Case Response Team the way that you see fit. I have been reading about this team and it's accomplishments for weeks. This team, is very close. They are a family. They would not work as efficiently as they do without each other there to lean on for support or backup."

"That was why I agreed to put them back together, Agent Keller."

Jessica smiled. She could hear the unspoken threat under his tone. She knew that he was always waiting for some slipup that he didn't approve of to give him a reason to separate them again, even if it just meant getting rid of his biggest annoyance, Tony.

"Alright, we'll get back to this. Let's move on."

She closed Vance's file and pulled the next one off the top. She opened it, skimmed the contents and then closed it again. She looked up, tapping her pen on the pad of paper on the table.

"Mr. Palmer? How do you feel about the people in this room?"

"Me? Oh, geez…I love the people in this room. I'm good friends with Abby. Dr. Mallard is brilliant, I learn something new from him everyday. I look up to him. I hope that one day, I can be as good as he is."

Dr. Mallard smiled at his assistant and patted his hand.

"And I really like Ziva and McGee. Tony is great. Agent Gibbs, well….he can be a little…uh…off putting sometimes, but I think that in my time here….I uh…."

"Palmer, spit it out." Gibbs said.

Jimmy took a deep breath, "I can say with the utmost confidence that I think he is the best agent NCIS has to offer. I have learned so much about what the agents do and Agent Gibbs is just the best that I've seen."

"Wow…that's nice Palmer." Tony said, complimenting the boy.

"It's the truth, Tony." Jimmy said. He seemed to be a bit embarrassed about what he had just divulged.

"That's wonderful. I didn't hear you mention the Director."

"Oh…uh…well…I didn't mean that I didn't like the Director in any…uh…I mean, I don't really…"

"Jimmy, you seem nervous."

"Yeah, very nervous, Agent Keller." He confirmed.

"What are you nervous about?"

Jimmy kept his eyes low and didn't make eye contact with anyone.

"Are you afraid to speak your mind, Jimmy?"

"A little." He said meekly.

"Why? Has anyone here ever yelled at you for speaking your mind before?"

"No," he answered quickly.

"Have you ever been formally reprimanded for speaking your mind?"

"No…now that you mention it. I haven't."

"Has Dr. Mallard ever told you that you can't speak your mind?"

"No, of course not." he said, looking at Ducky to emphasize his answer.

"Then tell me, Mr. Palmer. Why are you afraid to talk about how you feel?"

Jimmy thought for a moment. He wasn't sure that bringing up something like this here was a good idea. They just wanted this whole therapy thing to be over. Him admitting that there was a problem would only make this last longer. But he had to admit, it felt good to talk about it.

"The truth?"

"That would be nice, Jimmy."

"I…I don't always feel…that I'm appreciated around here. I don't feel like I'm really part of the team."

"Palmer, what are you…." Tony began, but Agent Keller held up a hand to stop him.

"Now, Tony, let him speak. Go on, Jimmy. Why don't you feel like part of the team?"

"Everyone here is great. I would never want to work anywhere else. I would miss everyone here way too much, but sometimes I wonder what they think of me."

"I see. Continue, please."

"Dr. Mallard is my mentor. He's probably the only one who has ever told me anything nice or even praised the work that I've done."

"Of course, Mr. Palmer. Your work is near perfect. I couldn't ask for a better assistant." Ducky said.

"But that's it. You only care about my work. You talk constantly about yourself and your younger days, which I love to hear about, but you never ask me about mine. And when I do start to tell you a little about myself, you either interrupt me, or tell me that it's an inappropriate time. Did you know that you only called me by my first name once?"

"Oh dear. I didn't know. I had no idea that you felt so strongly about this. Why didn't you say something?" Dr. Mallard asked.

"I didn't want to disappoint you…or Gibbs."

"Gibbs? Why on earth would he be disappointed with you?" Ducky asked, astonished by that revelation.

"I don't know. He always seems so annoyed with me. I start talking and he just glares or stares at me. It gets me to shut up and he moves on. He doesn't ask my opinion, truthfully I don't think he cares. He never tells me that I do a good job."

"Palmer, I never thought you needed to hear it from me. I assumed you already knew that you do a good job. You don't need me to tell you that." Gibbs said.

"Then why do you always look at me like you want to wring my neck?"

"When my mind is on a case, everything else takes a back seat. Besides, its one of my rules not to get involved in your personal lives. So when you talk about personal stuff I just give you my best stare. If I didn't think you were doing a good job, you wouldn't be here, Palmer."

"Let me interrupt you a minute. I understand why you would want praise from Dr. Mallard. Why is praise from Agent Gibbs so important to you?"

"Everyone here is a part of Gibbs team. He's like a father to most of us, with the exception of Dr. Mallard. I really look up to him. I know that I'm not a special agent. But, I've seen how he is with Tony and Abby, I see how he protects his team with everything he has. I hear when he tells them they did a good job. I have never once felt like I was a part of this special family."

Everyone was quiet, "Look. I'm not looking for special treatment. I don't even need to be told what a good job I'm doing, though once in a while would be nice. You know, make me feel needed or like I'm doing something right. I would just like them to ask how I'm doing once in a while. Take an interest in me or my life. I would like to be included when they do things outside of work, or maybe come to me with problems when something is bugging them."

"Well its not that we don't appreciate you, Palmer, but we're federal agents. It's not like we can come to you when we are stuck on a case." McGee said.

"Tony does."

That was a big shock to everyone. Gibbs didn't react to that. He already knew about the growing friendship between Jimmy and Tony. He was happy that they were getting along. He just pretended not to know.

"Since when?" McGee asked.

"Since the time when Agent Gibbs temporarily retired. While Gibbs was away, Tony tried so hard to keep the team together. He would come to me when he was feeling down, or tired, or when his mind was just so fried and he needed another opinion. He would even talk to me about the current case he was working on and we would talk it over and figure it out together. It was nice."

"You really helped me a lot then, Palmer." Agent DiNozzo admitted.

"Anytime, Tony."

"That's another thing I want to discuss, we'll come back to that. Now, Jimmy, what about the Director. You still haven't mentioned him."

"I don't really know the Director that well. He very rarely comes down to autopsy and when he does, he's looking for Dr. Mallard. I had more contact with our previous director, Director Sheppard. I've asked if I could help him in Dr. Mallard's absence and he just says he'll wait. I really can't say what I think of him except that I think he needs to learn more about the team. I've overheard things and I don't think he thinks very much of this team, except for McGee of course."

"Interesting. Well, I think that it's obvious here that you should all get to know Mr. Palmer more. Perhaps now that you have spoken your desires, you will be able to move forward. Now, it's been an hour, and I promised you that I would keep our sessions within that hour. You all have work to do and I'm sure things to think about. I would like us to meet two days from now, Friday, same time, right here. Thank you for your participation."

Agent Keller watched as they slowly stood and made their way out of the door. They gave each other wary looks and more than one darted toward the Director. Once they all left, she stayed behind to finish her notes and then made her way to her desk. She grabbed her coat and her bag when Gibbs called out to grab their gear. There was another body found in Arlington, same M.O. They were off to another crime scene.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Two days passed with little progress on the case they were working. There was yet another body found after the one in Arlington two days ago. The sick bastard that was killing these officers was getting away with more and more every day, and it was eating away at the team.

Agent Keller spent her time observing for the most part. She was allowed to help at the crime scenes by questioning the witnesses that found the bodies. She was allowed to write up reports, and search for financial records, but Gibbs wouldn't let her handle physical evidence. She wasn't truly part of the team and so she wasn't at all offended.

Friday came quickly. They were running evidence tests now and the time for their next session had come. She waited patiently in the conference room. Some of them were on time. Abby, Tony and the Director were the only late comers. Tony had a valid excuse, as did Abby. The Director she assumed was using his power to do as he pleased.

"Alright. I know that we have a case and it's getting to the boiling point. As of now, there is little that we can do to really investigate further until the test results are in. It's those results that we are currently waiting for. So, we have about an hour to carry on our discussion from last time." Agent Keller began.

"We do have a suspect to interrogate, Agent Keller." McGee offered.

"I understand that, but it won't hurt to let him sit and stew for an hour or so. Since I'll be observing Gibbs interrogation, I would rather the suspect be nervous and paranoid. I like them better that way. It will also make it easier for Gibbs to get what he needs out of him."

A chuckled interrupted McGee from responding. It was Ziva. All eyes were on her.

"Sorry. It is amazing how much you think like Gibbs. He uses that very technique in interrogation as well."

Jessica gave her a faint smile and then turned her attention to her temporary supervisor, grinning. She then took up her notebook and skimmed through her notes.

"Okay, I had certain things that I wanted to touch on today, but we hit on a few more important points during our last session that takes precedence. So, we will start there today."

She flipped back a few pages to check her notes from last session and tapped her pen on the first point to address.

"Now, I know that I touched on Director Vance's distrust of the team…"

"I do not distrust them." Leon snapped, opening his suit jacket.

"My apologies, your lack of knowledge concerning their personal lives and your less than desirable feelings for Special Agent DiNozzo."

He seemed annoyed by her last statement, but was satisfied she corrected herself.

"There was another question I had for you about that subject, but sensed the need to move on at the time. I asked you how much you knew about their personal lives, but what about their professional ones. You agree that Gibbs team 'gets the job done,' but you still feel that DiNozzo is the inferior agent and McGee the more promising. Are those feelings about their performance based on fact, or just by the few things you have witnessed?"

"I have witnessed plenty, Agent Keller. From what I have seen, McGee is hardworking, tenacious, obedient and goes the extra mile to impress his superiors. He excels at computer and technological forensics and I have seen the way he goes above and beyond to uphold the integrity of this agency."

"And Special Agent DiNozzo? How would you rate his job perfomance, from what you have witnessed?"

"He is arrogant. He takes the credit even when he clearly didn't do the work to earn it. He is lazy, spending half his time wasting time. He can barely type let alone work a computer. He is completely insubordinate and impedes his fellow agents more than he helps when they are working hard to close the case."

Tony was shaking his head as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Agent McGee was nodding his head in agreement, a triumphant smirk on his face. Ziva remained quiet, but she looked knowingly at Timothy. Abby looked ready to pounce on the director for his opinion as did Gibbs.

"Director, I was not under the impression that you ever went out into the field with Gibbs and his team. I thought that the only vantage point you had as an audience to their work was the squad room. When do you get time to see any of them in action?"

"The squad room and all of NCIS is the only place I really see them in action, with the exception of a few special cases. What does that matter?"

"Well, all you see is basically their down time or while they are doing paperwork. You can't think that desk work is the only kind of investigating that proves an agents worth."

"Of course not, but how they behave here can't be much different than out in the field."

"So, you have no idea how any of them behave under pressure. You don't know how they react to gun fire. You have no idea how well they listen to orders in the field. You have no inkling of what happens outside of the Navy Yard. Do you?"

"No, not a clear indication, but I have my best guess."

"Did you know that Agent DiNozzo has topped your agencies list for best on the range? Out of all your agents, he has had the best scores and for the longest running time."

"No, I didn't. But that hardly means anything. All my agents are good with weapons. And he can only use a gun. Ziva would be the best agent with weapons."

"That may be true, and I'm sure that comes in handy, but you don't have a problem with Agent David. Did you know, that he has never failed a physical? He has been in top physical condition since the day he started working for Gibbs."

"No, I did not, Agent Keller."

"Ok, how about this. Did you know that even in Gibbs absence, this teams solve rate remained the same? I'm talking about when Gibbs was out for medical leave."

"I did."

"What about his undercover skills? I have it under good authority that you have requested him for an undercover assignment."

"He is one of my agents. I can use him however I see fit."

"But Director Vance…if McGee is, in your eyes, the better agent all around, why did you not request Agent McGee for that undercover operation?"

Silence filled the room. She caught him. She had hit on something that not only McGee himself had questioned time and time again, but Gibbs had wondered about. If Vance hated DiNozzo so bad and had no faith in his abilities as an agent, why didn't he use his shining star?

"I won't demand an answer for you now, but I suggest you think about it. It makes very little sense to adamantly show your distaste for Agent DiNozzo and then in the same breath, trust him with an important undercover operation. Just think about it. Now, moving on."

She checked her notebook again.

"Alright, the next thing I would like to address is more about Agent DiNozzo himself."

"Figures." McGee spat nastily, completely unaware that he had said it out loud.

He had been in a fowl mood all day. DiNozzo was in a more annoying state today than he had been at the beginning of this case and it was working on his last nerve. Some days he understood Director Vance's views on his coworker Now to top it all off, he had questions about what they had just discussed swirling about in his head.

Tony shifted in his chair to look at his partner, "That's not very nice, Probalicious."

Keller would have laughed at his teasing, accept that McGee suddenly started yelling.

"That is what I'm talking about! He is absolutely impossible. He has been doing this to me for years. Today has been freaking horrible! I can't take it anymore."

"You said, 'figures' Agent McGee. What do you mean?" Keller asked.

"Well, everything is about DiNozzo, isn't it? He's the golden boy. Gibbs favorite aside from Abby."

"Not by me, McGee." The director assured him.

"Grow up, McTattle. Be a man." Tony countered with a wise ass smile on his face.

Tony felt a sharp pain and flinched. Gibbs had smacked the back of his head. He knew he deserved it. He was surprised that he hadn't gotten it earlier.

"Can it, DiNozzo." Gibbs said curtly.

"Canning it, Boss." Tony immediately slouched back down comfortably in his chair.

Agent Keller was appalled by that action, but it seemed as though this was an everyday occurrence. No one else seemed surprised by it and Tony didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed pleased with himself. Interesting.

"Gibbs, you should have done that like a dozen times today! You really let him get away with murder." McGee said, sounding like a child complaining about how unfair Dad was being.

Keller admitted that, of the group, Gibbs seemed to be the father figure. The male agents being competitive brothers and the completely adored Abby as the lively and energetic sister. Ziva and Palmer, although loved and appreciated were more outsiders. Ducky was obviously the uncle or grandfather. The Director played almost no part at all accept that of their superior.

Gibbs didn't say anything or explain himself to McGee. The younger agent remained silent like his boss. He seemed to take the silence but his anger was apparent on his face.

"What I really wanted to talk about was the period of time that Agent DiNozzo was left in charge of the team. We will come back to your concerns Tim. I would like to discuss the four months that Tony was team leader in Gibbs absence. What was that like?"

"Oh my God, it was a complete nightmare!" Ziva exclaimed without provocation.

Agent Keller watched as Gibbs glared angrily at Ziva, Abby showing the same kind of contempt for the female agent. DiNozzo seemed to cower a bit in his chair. He looked immediately dejected.

"Do the rest of you agree?" Agent Keller asked, looking to the rest of the team.

"I'm with Ziva. Tony was horrible. He kept trying to act like Gibbs, when he is TOTALLY NOT! He was hard like Gibbs, stared like Gibbs, even went so far as to drink loads of coffee and take Caf-Pows to Abby." McGee scoffed, with a nasty snicker underneath his anger.

Ziva added, "And he made us sit through these stupid campfires to discuss our cases. It was so ridiculous. I could not wait until Gibbs returned. We did not even know if Gibbs would return. I liked Director Sheppard very much, but I think that it was a complete lapse in judgment to keep him on as team leader. I could not even believe that Gibbs would leave this nut bag in charge in the first place."

"Nut case, Ziva." McGee corrected her.

"Whatever. He is still clearly nuts, yes?"

Tony seemed to shrink down even lower in his seat. For a man who was very outspoken any other time, it was extremely odd that he clam up now. He wasn't even trying to defend himself.

"That's enough!" Gibbs barked, standing up. Clearly he didn't agree.

"You bet that's enough! How could you guys say those things? Tony is the best. Tony was awesome. He did everything he could to make life bearable while the bossman was away." Abby said, adding in her two cents.

It seemed Agent Keller wasn't going to have to ask each member of the team their opinion, seeing as it was being given freely and without motivation.

"Quite right. Anthony did the best that he could in Jethro's absence. He was rather good at keeping the team together. You two should have been more supportive." Ducky added, standing as well, pointing his finger accusingly.

Palmer, seething, followed suit, "That's right. You don't know what it was like for Tony! He had to keep you all together until Gibbs came back. He always knew that Gibbs would eventually. He did most of the work cuz you guys didn't do like you were told! He was always tired, and even more so once Director Sheppard put him on that stupid undercover op! He did his work and her work. He was tired, and he missed Gibbs so much. He felt unappreciated all the time….you guys were horrible to him! Even Abby."

Keller saw that Abby looked horrified at that. She was in agreement with how McGee and Ziva treated Tony, but she never did anything to hurt him, "What are you talking about, Jimmy?"

"You were constantly telling him how he wasn't Gibbs and it didn't help that you kept those pictures of Gibbs up on every computer and plasma screen in your lab. Then you felt the need to make him a Gibbs trainee. You never let him be himself. It only made him feel worse. Like you couldn't just be happy you still had him and the rest of the team. Like Gibbs was the only one that mattered. Then he decided that maybe that was what you all needed. The Gibbs factor, a sense of normalcy." Palmer was shaking with anger now, visibly.

"Jimmy….stop. Its okay." Tony said quietly without looking up.

Jimmy stuttered to a stop, and gave the most sympathetic look Keller had ever seen. Tony was brushing it off to deal with alone later. That was no good. The look in Gibbs eyes were sharp and foreboding. He was pissed that his senior field agent was reduced to the almost childlike being before them.

"The hell it is, Tony." Gibbs yelled, "Look at me."

Tony looked up at him, his eyes somber and lost. Gibbs fatherly affection for him came to the forefront. It hurt Gibbs to see Tony so docile. This wasn't Tony, this was a pale comparison to the Tony DiNozzo he had grown so close to over the years.

"You are a good agent. The best I have worked with. I wouldn't want anyone else watching my six. You got that?"

"Sure, Boss."

"I mean it, DiNozzo." Gibbs smacked the back of his head, and he grinned when the faintest of smiles gripped the corners of Tony's mouth.

"I gotcha, Boss."

"Good. As for you two, you have explaining to do. Palmer, I want to know everything that went on while I was gone."

"You always spoil him, Gibbs. He's not your son!" Ziva and McGee almost said in unison.

Gibbs eyes flashed. He looked ready to dish out pain. It was more than apparent that he felt as though Tony was exactly that. This was getting out of hand. This was one of the major issues that needed to be addressed and she was glad they hit on it now.

"SIT!" Keller said, raising her voice over theirs.

They all stared at her and sat down cautiously, their eyes darting around the room at each other. Tony, though a bit more confident by Gibbs words, remained subdued in his chair. Director Vance was interested, but as he hadn't joined been with them until after the event, he didn't have any right to add his two cents.

"Jimmy. You seem to know a great deal more about this than you're letting on. I would like to hear everything about that time as well." Agent Keller encouraged him.

Jimmy looked from Tony and Gibbs to the other agents. He was clearly afraid of reprisal. He started out slow and every word gained in passion.

"Tony was alone. I mean, I know that he had the entire team, but he was very alone. Nothing was the same when Gibbs left. Everyone was sad and heartbroken the night Gibbs walked out, and I mean walked out. He handed his badge and gun to Tony and said that it was his team."

"You were not even there. How would you know?" Ziva asked, snapping at him.

"I was by the opposite elevator. I had come up, ready to leave for the night. I saw you all standing in the bullpen. I witnessed the whole thing. Of course, as usual, I wasn't noticed or included, but that's not important right now."

"Continue, please, Jimmy." Jessica urged him.

"He kissed Abby goodbye, without letting her speak or protest. She must have cried for weeks after he left. I never knew what to do to make her feel better. Tony did the best he could. He was the only one that could get close enough to her for a while. Gibbs shook hands with McGee, telling him that he was a fine agent. Made him feel good, but leaving behind a hole in his heart I'm sure. I wouldn't know, McGee never talked about it as far as I know."

"Couldn't, Palmer."

"Yeah, I understand. Ziva didn't look nearly as upset, though she had only been around for two years. Gibbs was not as important to her as he was to the others. She seemed more understanding of his reason to leave, but you could still see that she missed him a lot. Her own father is not the best man in the world."

"What do you know about my father?" Ziva snapped.

"I know enough. Again, not important right now. Dr. Mallard is well known for talking in excess. For at least a month, he hardly spoke. I was worried what might happen to the team. It was broken and hurting, but Tony did everything to keep it together and I didn't need to worry as much."

Jessica looked at the team. The silence was deafening. Abby looked close to tears just at the mention of that fateful day. Tony was quiet, almost resigned. Gibbs was listening intently. Director Vance had not known them during this time. He was interested in what happened before his arrival.

"Tony was hurting as much as Abby, if not more. There are things that people don't really know about Tony. Gibbs might. I know Dr. Mallard does. Gibbs is a father figure for Tony. You can see it in the way they interact. The head slaps, the kind eyes that he only shares with Tony and Abby. The fact that it's usually Tony watching his six, and Tony who he trusts with undercover ops. He trusts Tony indefinitely."

"You are very observant, Mr. Palmer. Jethro has been changing everyday since young Anthony joined us. I'm glad that you caught on." Ducky said, quietly.

"Thank you. Anyway, when Gibbs left, he was so lost. He didn't know what to do at first. I found him one day standing outside of autopsy, talking to himself. That was when our relationship first took off. Our friendship only grew from there. I was the only one who seemed to care enough to listen. Abby was crying more often than not and Dr. Mallard was scarce for a while."

"I understand." Keller nodded.

"He thought about quitting at first. He didn't think that he could work at NCIS without Gibbs. He was so used to the dynamic that the team had, continuing without Gibbs seemed like a betrayal to him. The thought to quit came and went a dozen times before Gibbs returned."

Gibbs looked at his senior field agent. Tony was staring at the table. His eyes were glazed over and his features were tight. He was trying so hard to hold in his feelings. Gibbs would have thought it would be easy for Tony to cry if he had to. But then he remembered when Kate died. Tony hadn't shed a tear. He had been strong for him and for the team.

Gibbs gripped his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Tony didn't look up, and his silence worried Gibbs. He left his hand on his shoulder, if only to confirm that he was okay.

"We talked about it, and I convinced him to stay. He did the only thing that he could think of to keep the team together. He tried to maintain a sense of normalcy, calling it the Gibbs Factor. Acting like Gibbs was supposed to make the rest of the team feel more at home, like nothing had changed even though it had. He tried to continue on with Agent Gibbs' glares and stares and head slaps to continue to train and shape McGee and Ziva. He started going to Abby's lab with her favorite Caf-Pows just like Gibbs did. He asked her 'what do ya got, Abbs' just like Gibbs did. He started sneaking around, trying to do everything to make them feel like nothing had changed. All that got him was more pain. They took every opportunity to tell him he wasn't anywhere near good enough to replace Gibbs. Their banter was no longer kind and sibling like. It got nasty and vindictive over the months."

"Is this true?" Gibbs demanded of them.

They kept their heads low and that was answer enough for him. He shook his head in disgust.

"Go on, Jimmy." Agent Keller said, adding more notes to her laptop, sensing Mr. Palmer wasn't finished.

"He had his new team leader work to do, he had cases to solve, and because he didn't want McGee to be overwhelmed with all the work a senior field agent was tasked with doing, he picked up the extra duties that he always did when he was Gibbs number one. He also helped out Agent Lee, the newbie on the team. She was a former legal agent. Never been in the field. Then on top of that, he stayed three hours late every night to finish up both Ziva and McGee's reports because you both took your sweet time getting them done. He wanted them finished for the Director the next day and you two didn't do your work on time. He was tasked with doing yours on top of all his other work. You guys came in late constantly, leaving him to go to crime scenes alone. Then you would always leave early before your work was done. You took longer lunches and stopped including him completely."

Palmer paused, glancing at Gibbs before he continued. He wasn't sure if he should add this next part, but he had said to tell him everything.

"You didn't even care when Tony got sick." Gibbs head snapped over to look at him, then he looked back at Tony. He hadn't known that Tony had been sick during his absence.

"Tony was suffering a chest cold for like two weeks, and he still came into work. You guys just pretended that he was fine."

The look on Gibbs face was almost primal. "He suffered and survived the plague. You both knew that any cold would be hard to fight off and could be fatal for him. And yet, you did nothing?" He remained in his seat, astounded that his team had fallen apart like this. He thought he had shaped them right. It was abundantly clear that only DiNozzo learned a damn thing from him. "I taught you both better than that,"

"Then, in the second month, Director Sheppard had him embark on an undercover operation. He would've told Ziva and McGee, but they were so nasty and uncaring by then that he didn't think they would give a shit. He dealt with all that undercover crap alone. He came to see me more regularly and we started talking about cases. He even filled me in on the op little by little against orders from Director Sheppard. The op was supposed to be completely classified, but he couldn't take it alone. He hated keeping secrets from Ziva and McGee, but by then his confidence in the team was slipping. So, he convinced himself that following orders and keeping secrets was better. It's probably why he continued to keep the secret even after Gibbs got back. He had lost faith that anyone cared about him, even Gibbs, though I tried to convince him otherwise. I felt like I had a relationship similar to how Gibbs and Dr. Mallard have. He continued to do all this, and his undercover op, his own work and still tried to make time to cheer up Dr. Mallard and Abby. He hardly slept. He hardly ate. You guys did nothing to help him."

There was silence. Director Vance was the first to speak.

"Perhaps, Mr. Palmer, if Agent DiNozzo conducted himself more like a federal agent and less like a frat boy, his colleuges wouldn't have treated him so." Tony looked up at him, and Vance glared at him. None of what Palmer was saying was sinking in at all. "If you spent more time doing your work, and being a good example, your coworkers would have treated you with more respect."

Tony looked stunned and so did Gibbs. Dr. Mallard looked completely appalled. Abby was subconsciously twisting the spiky cuffs on her wrist angrily. Agent Keller spoke first, cutting the tension in half, but no looked by any means calm.

"This is a big issue. If these things can not be dealt with, it will be hard for the team to continue working as well as it has in the past. Does anyone have anything to say or add?" She asked looking around the room.

"Umm…I do." Abby said and turned to face Tony, clasping his hands in hers. "Tony, I'm so sorry that I didn't see how much you were hurting. I was so caught up in my own morbid pain and I was…I was being selfish. You came down to see me everyday and you spent so many nights with me just holding me until I was able to fall asleep. I should have seen that you were just as upset about the bossman leaving as I was. Gibbs has been like your father for years. I should have seen what his leaving was doing to you. Can you ever forgive me?"

Tony nodded and she leapt out of her chair. She plopped in his lap and hugged him tightly. She was crying and he was holding her tightly against him. He felt his mask slipping and was close to tears himself, but he didn't want Gibbs to see his weaknesses. He didn't want to disappoint him. Not now. He felt Gibbs squeeze his shoulder again and relaxed even more.

"It's okay, Abbs. I forgive you. I was never mad at you to begin with. I knew how much Gibbs meant to you."

She cried louder and just clung to him more tightly.

"Anthony, my boy. I should have spent more time with you. Without Gibbs here, I was the closest thing to family next to Abby. It would have been even less hurtful for me, not just you, if I had come to you in the first place. I do apologize."

"It's alright, Ducky."

"What about you two? You got anything to say…like maybe an apology?" Gibbs demanded, glaring at his other two agents.

There was silence. This was obviously something that would take more time. Keller looked at the clock on the wall. It was well over an hour. This would have to be picked up later, when emotions weren't running so high.

"We will have to end this here, I'm afraid. I'll reschedule this for…"

"Tomorrow." Gibbs barked.

"Very well, tomorrow. Get some rest. The case will no doubt be mentally draining until it's wrapped up. I'll see you all here tomorrow, same time."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**The next morning was one to dread. After their session, Gibbs spent the remainder of the day working on the case alone with DiNozzo. He went to interview witnesses, taking Tony with him. He had Tony join him during every trip to Abby's lab and autopsy. He even insisted that Tony accompany him when he went for coffee. McGee and Ziva were both left behind to complete paperwork at their desks.**

**Whenever Gibbs needed to see Director Vance or answer a call in MTAC, he instructed Tony to go and wait for him with Palmer and Dr. Mallard or with Abby in her lab. **

**Gibbs absolutely refused to allow him to stay in the bullpen alone with team members who apparently held a great deal of contempt for him. He also wouldn't allow Ziva and McGee to corner him and badger him, or allow Tony to redirect Gibbs anger for them to himself as he routinely did.**

**Now, the day after, the bullpen was dead quiet. It was seven a.m. and most of the agents were sitting at their desks. Tim and Ziva met in the parking garage. Turned out, both of them wanted to make sure that they were a few minutes early. They wanted to do anything to ward off Gibbs wrath.**

**As they stepped off the elevator, they noticed a sea of eyes staring at them the second they stepped out. Quite put on the spot and feeling way too uncomfortable in their own skin, they lowered their heads and moved on. They walked quickly toward their desks only to find Abby standing in the entrance to their unit with her arms crossed. **

**Ziva saw her glare of death and shivered. Even though she was a trained assassin, she was still frightened slightly by Abby. The pair glanced behind her to find the cubicles empty. Agent Keller stood and came toward them, her notebooks and laptop in hand. **

**Attempting to be pleasant, Tim greeted Abby with a nervous smile.**

"**Uh…hey..Abby. Having a good morning?" He squeaked.**

**Ziva was about to express her greeting when Abby finally spoke. Yelled was more like it.**

"**Good…McGee? Am I having a GOOD morning? No, McGee, I would say I'm having a BAD morning! A very BAD, disgusted, disturbed, and disappointing morning!"**

**Agent Keller flinched, knowing full well where this was all going. She wanted to stop her, but feared for her own safety if she interfered. **

**McGee was frozen in place. His eyes grew to saucers in the face of Abby's fury. Ziva nudged him aside to try and get to her desk, but Abby blocked her path.**

"**Abby, may I please get to my desk? I have a lot of work to do." Ziva tried to say it sweetly, her mouth twitching with the effort.**

"**No, you may not, Agent David! I'm not finished telling you two about the morning I've had. Come," She said, grabbing them both by their arms and pulled them to the middle of the room. Two office chairs were sitting in the center. "Sit down, won't you?"**

"**I would rather sit at my…" Ziva disagreed.**

"**Abby, we really need to…." McGee stammered.**

"**SIT!"**

**The pair sat. They looked around and saw the eyes again. This was all very embarrassing. They looked to Agent Keller for help, but she merely waited with sympathetic eyes. She didn't condone what they did, but every action one takes is driven by reason. It was her job to discover these reasons and mend the situation before things got out of hand.**

"**Yesterday, I did some serious thinking. I realized that I made mistakes. Mistakes that hurt Tony, mistakes I can never take back. I'm sorry for the way I behaved while our fearless leader was away in sunny Mexico. I will do everything to make that up to him."**

"**We know Abby," Ziva started.**

"**Hush!" She said, thrusting her spike studded wrists at her. She meant business.**

"**I was always in my lab before. So, I never saw the things that Jimmy accused you both of. I couldn't believe that."**

**She picked up a remote, spun their chairs to face the plasma and pressed play. Tim froze when he read the date in the corner. These were security tapes from the time during Gibbs absence. **

"**As you can see, I did a little snooping. I pulled the security tapes from the months Gibbs was on his sabbatical. Every day you two left early, came in late, belittled him, put him down and left him out of everything. Jimmy was right."**

"**Abby…" they began.**

"**No! No excuses! You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves!"**

**With that, she tossed the remote onto Tony's desk, which she had buried under her favorite black roses and teddy bears, and stormed out of the room.**

**Complete silence. Ziva and Tim stared at the screen that continued to play clips of their misdeeds. After a few minutes, Agent Keller cleared her throat. The pair looked up at her.**

"**You here to ruin our careers further?" Ziva asked.**

"**I'm not ruining anything. These issues already existed. Now they are out in the open and need fixing. That is all I'm here for. I would like to see this team run as efficiently as it has in the past. That is all I'm after, Agent David."**

"**Yeah right." McGee said nastily, "What do you want anyway?"**

"**Now McGee…you should not be angry with Agent Keller. It was time our thoughts and concerns came out into the open. You are upset and angry with Tony and with Gibbs for allowing Tony's behavior."**

"**That's true, Miss David. However, your anger is misplaced."**

"**You can't tell us how to feel!" Tim shouted. He was standing now.**

"**McGee!" Came a growl from behind.**

**They all turned to the stairs leading to MTAC. Gibbs, followed by the director, Dr. Mallard and Tony were descending the last platform.**

**Jessica Keller let them reach the cubicles before addressing him.**

"**That wasn't necessary, Agent Gibbs. Agent McGee simply got excited. I do not and did not feel in any way threatened."**

**Tim felt slightly annoyed by that statement, even though he had no intention of hitting her. The severe look on Gibbs face held his tongue.**

"**I thought that once…now I'm not so sure I know him at all."**

**Ziva's eyes widened and she turned to see the hurt look on Tim's face. Angry, she rounded on Gibbs.**

"**We also thought we knew you better, Sir." Gibbs eyes flashed, making her grin triumphantly, "I…we were not aware that you were the kind of team leader that blatantly chose favorites!"**

**Both Tim and Ziva intended to protest and Gibbs was going to retaliate, but Vance stopped them. "That's enough!" **

**Director Vance narrowed his eyes. Gibbs walked around them to his desk, pushing Tony along. Ducky followed. Gibbs sat Tony down in his chair and stood beside him. Ducky pulled a chair over. **

"**Now, Agent Keller came to me with an exercise that I think may prove our points of view to her and to Gibbs. Today's session will proceed as scheduled. The rest of your day, well, this week, will be centered around a new experiment."**

"**What kind of experiment?" Ziva asked. **

"**I'm going to let Miss Keller explain. Just be advised. This experiment has been given my approval and personal endorsement. Everyone in this building has been notified," he turned to Agent Keller, "I leave the rest to you. I'll see you at noon. This is the perfect opportunity for you both to prove your worth. Good luck."**

"**Alright, this is what's going to happen. Pay attention."**

**All eyes were on her.**

"**Our last session brought up a big issue. You two do not trust your Senior Field Agent, Agent DiNozzo. This issue, I'm sure, is one of the reasons this teams has slowly been deteriorating. I still believe there is another that awaits my attention, but for now, we will work on fixing this one."**

"**What experiment are you going to perform on us?" Tim asked, fearing it was something painfully physical.**

**Ignoring his question, Keller continued, "Tim, you seem to have a deep, emotional issue. When I first met this team, I assumed that you and Tony were good friends. You acted like brothers competing for fatherly affection and praise, attention from others, girls: Gibbs, the director and girls. I sense, though, that there is something deeper that you have yet to voice."**

"**I just can't stand how he always…."**

"**Not now. Later. I am just making an observation. Ziva, you are very used to being the best. You had special training at Mossad and you learned your responsibilities here very quickly. There are certain things, I believe, that bother you that you also don't tell anyone about. This must change, people."**

"**He is just so…."**

**Keller held up a hand, "So, this is what we're doing. Tony is going to step down, temporarily, from his role as Senior Field Agent. The two of you are going to fill that position for the entire week."**

**Tim and Ziva's eyes lit up.**

"**Really?" Tim's voice squeaked.**

**Ziva and him turned to grin at Tony gleefully. Tony just smiled back at them, as if this didn't bother him in the slightest. Gibbs looked annoyed and Ducky seemed deeply concerned.**

"**You'll see, Boss. I have read the manual over and over. I know everything that a PROPER Senior Field Agent is supposed to be like. We won't let you down, Boss." Tim tried to persuade Gibbs excitedly.**

"**Yes, Gibbs. You will soon understand how much better suited we both are for the job."**

"**You really do believe that, don't you?" Gibbs asked.**

"**Yes," They said.**

"**I wish you had remembered rule number eight."**

**Keller looked at Gibbs curiously, "Rule number eight?"**

**As if on que, McGee answered, "Rule eight, never take anything for granted."**

"**These are NCIS rules?" Keller asked.**

"**No, they're my rules." Gibbs corrected.**

"**What have we taken for granted, Gibbs?" Ziva asked, getting back on topic.**

"**DiNozzo." Was all Gibbs had to say on the matter.**

**Tony shifted in his seat. He started thinking about the differences between him and them. Maybe they would be better than he was. Tim would have no trouble breezing through the paperwork and computer duties. He already outshined him in computer searches and finding answers where no one else could. Ziva could more than adequately handle covering Gibbs' six. Neither one of them goofed around on duty like he did. His shoulders slumped with each realization.**

**He felt an old, steady hand clasp his forearm. Ducky was trying to reassure him. He had two of the most important people in his life on his side, supporting him. He also knew that Abby was there for him too. He realized then, that was all he needed.**

"**We can handle the job Gibbs. I can't believe we finally get to prove it." Tim said, practically jumping with delight.**

"**Don't get all excited yet. You haven't heard everything."**

**They turned their attention to her once more. They tried to look professional, but they couldn't hide their elation. They could not wait to show up DiNozzo.**

"**Agent DiNozzo has been a Senior Field Agent for almost nine years. He has been doing this alone. This week, you two will be sharing the responsibilities of Senior Field Agent. Keep that in mind as the week progresses."**

"**I am sure that we can handle it, Agent Keller." Ziva said confidently.**

"**Yeah. Tony spends most of his day goofing off, making jokes and eating pizza. I think that, if he can do the job while doing nothing for half the time, then together, Ziva and I can do it."**

**Keller nodded, "This is the most recent list of duties a Senior Field Agent is tasked with doing. Though, please understand, this list is not current. Anything that is missing from that list, or anything that Gibbs normally expects of Agent DiNozzo that is not in the job description, he and the others will have to teach you along the way."**

**She passed them a handout, "Tony is not to help you in any way. If you have questions, you must ask your team leader or the director. You will be treated by everyone here at NCIS as Senior Field Agents for this MCR team. The same expectations that Tony upheld, you will be expected to do the same."**

"**And you will answer to me when you do not perform to the best of your ability. This is to be taken seriously. This is not a game." Gibbs added, even as he was answering his cell.**

"**Then good luck to you both. I will be observing."**

"**Thank you for this…"**

"**Grab your gear…another body was found in Arlington."**

**Gibbs was already at the elevator with Tony. His team followed. As the doors were closing, Agent Keller thought about the lesson Tim and Ziva were about to learn. She grinned, thinking about the possible success of this experiment. She just hoped it didn't blow up in her face.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**At the crime scene:**

"Jethro, are you certain this experiment of Miss Keller's isn't going to upset the already strenuous balance?" Dr. Mallard asked his long time friend.

"I don't like this any more than you do, Duck." Gibbs said, scrubbing a hand over his face in exhaustion.

Ducky looked at his companion, his brow furrowed in concern, "You really don't. I thought that you agreed to this experiment."

"I did, but that doesn't mean I'm particularly happy with it. This has to stop, Duck. I've been so blind. I have a good team, good people to work with. Since I've been back, I've been working so hard to keep this family of ours together, I've been blind to the problems that have started to develop. If it's possible that this might work, we have to try." Gibbs explained.

"You're not blind, Jethro. You've just been preoccupied. First you had a new director to contend with, who you continue to contend with. Then you had the distrust your team had in you to repair…"

"Not DiNozzo." Gibbs said adamantly.

"No, not Anthony. He has always been very loyal to you. In fact, I believe he always knew deep down you would return, but watching the rest fall apart shook his faith, no doubt. But Jethro, you've been preoccupied. This is your family. When you're that close to people, you tend to miss the subtle problems that they usually work so hard to hide for your sake. I was not aware that things had gotten this bad either. No one on this team wants it to break up."

"They got a funny way of showing it."

"You really think this will work?"

"I don't know."

"This is wrong, if you ask me. This is already hurting Anthony. I can see how this is effecting him. He is questioning his abilities." Ducky informed him as they walked to the primary crime scene.

"It's only temporary. This experiment is only for the week. DiNozzo is my Senior Field Agent. I chose him for a reason…for many reasons. He will always be my Senior Field Agent. I know that I have favorites. Abby is like a daughter to me, always has been since I started working with her here at NCIS. Tony…DiNozzo is…"

"Anthony is the son you never had, Jethro. I know that is hard for you to admit. Abigail is easy to admit to. She's a woman and you feel obligated to protect her, very much like you protected Caitlynn. Anthony has grown on you since the day you met him. His uncanny, annoying, upbeat, spontaneous good nature and heart of gold has gotten under your skin and become a part of your everyday life. He's a good man. He has a big heart, good morals and works so hard to impress you, when he doesn't have to do anything. You protect him, because since you have met him, you can't think of a world without him in it. He is family."

"Yes, Ducky. He is family. As are Ziva and McGee…but DiNozzo is…"

"Different, yes I know, Jethro."

"I shouldn't do that. But I can't seem to help myself. I try not to pick favorites or treat anyone on my team differently. The others will never understand unless I explain, and I have no intention of explaining myself. This is my team. They are my agents."

"It's also Tony's team."

"Yes, this team would not be the same without him."

"I wonder if they understand how much he helped to shape them into the agents they are today?" Ducky asked.

"I doubt it. They broke rule eight. They have taken his presence here for granted far too long. They also broke rule one, never screw over your partner. I thought I had taught them better."

Tony walked past the pair, his mind clearly someplace else as he carried his equipment to the crime scene.

"And what do you intend to do about Anthony?"

"He's been spending more time with me. We've been working on the boat together these past couple months. Don't worry, I won't change our weekly after hours schedule. I'll make sure he is otherwise occupied."

"Wonderful. I would so like to make sure that this does not shake him of his confidence. Not only is young Anthony good for this team, but he is good for you, my dear friend."

"Can we get to work now, Duck?"

"Of course."

Ducky gave Gibbs his preliminary findings, informing him of time of death and his first glance cause of death. Gibbs then handed out assignments.

"Tony, sketch and shoot. McGee, bag and tag. Ziva, witness statements."

"On it, Boss." Tony responded immediately.

Tim moved without a word to do his task. Ziva complained.

"Why is it that I am always in charge of questioning the witnesses? I am quite capable of sketching and bagging evidence."

"I know. You haven't only questioned witnesses. In the years you have been here you have bagged evidence, sketched a scene, interrogated, chased suspects and taken photos."

Tony continued to work as though the conversation wasn't happening, which was odd. Usually he would have made a comment, or picked fun at Ziva. He just wasn't in the mood.

"As I have told you before, I am not good with people, Gibbs."

Gibbs rolled his eyes and Agent Keller made a note of Gibbs absolute disregard for Ziva's admission in her notebook.

"How do you expect to get better at it, Agent David, if you do not practice. You have been with this team for four years. I know that you think you're not good with people, but you read people very well. You learn by doing, Agent David. Go."

At that, Jessica scratched off in her notebook. There was a method to his madness.

"As your Senior Field Agent…"

"One of…" McGee corrected her.

"Yes, one of your Senior Field Agents, I would like to request a new assignment."

"Did my tone sound suggestive in any…" Gibbs began, annoyed.

"I'll switch with you, Zee-va."

"Well, thank you, Tony."

"Sure. I already finished sketching and I got pictures of the body. The scene still needs to be photographed, so by all means finish up here."

"Thank you, Tony. I appreciate it. The witness is over with the officer who responded."

"Got it." Tony said.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs began, but Tony was already headed off.

"Going to question the witness, Boss."

He watched him go, hoping upon hope that he would be okay until the end of the week. Tony was being way too amicable and understanding considering he would normally have plenty to say about not being Gibbs SFA. It was in pure DiNozzo fashion to get jealous of anyone or anything that threatened his position. It was evident when Stan Burley got more of Gibbs praise and attention that Tony was very protective of his position as Gibbs second. It bothered him when Ziva first arrived and caught on quick. It was clear that he didn't like being sent off as agent afloat. It was very unlike Tony to **not** fight for his position.

Dr. Mallard was right. This whole thing was effecting Tony far more than he was letting on. His mask was clearly set in place to show everyone that he wasn't a child and could handle not being the best, could handle not being Gibbs second as long as he got to be on the team. He was working hard to show everyone, Gibbs included, that he could be a good sport, even though this was killing him inside.

The rest of the morning went off without another hitch. Everyone did their jobs without complaint, albeit it was more quiet than usual. Tony's usual upbeat chatter was absent this time. They all got back to the navy yard and got to work at their desks.

Tony watched as McGee processed the evidence and sent it down to Abby to be analyzed. He noticed that Ziva breezed through her report and the adjoining paperwork that followed along with the case. Both of them checked for background and financials on the victim and cross checked that with the few suspects they had. They watched in on Gibbs interrogation of the most likely suspect an hour after that. All in all, they were doing well so far.

Upon their return, Tony went about refilling the response vehicle of supplies. The shelves in the warehouse were getting empty on certain things as well. He took care of that sort of thing himself, it was a SFA's duty. Filling the truck was any agents job, whoever Gibbs assigned, but it was the SFA's job to make sure that the shelves in the warehouse were filled and stocked. He sent an email to McGee after refilling the truck, hoping that he would get the hint and send out the forms, but he really just wanted to do it himself. He knew that it was wrong to help out, but he didn't want to disappoint Gibbs, even if it was indirectly and even when he didn't get credit for it.

An hour after lunch, an agent from another team approached Tony. Gibbs and Agent Keller were rounding the corner when Gibbs stopped to watch.

"Something wrong, Agent Gibbs?"

"Nope." He said simply, then pointed to the bull pen where Ziva and McGee were watching the agent conversing with Tony.

"Heya, DiNozzo."

Tony looked up, "Agent Andrews. How are you?"

"Good. Listen, we just caught a new case a few days ago and it's really got us stumped. I mean, we're running in circles."

"That sucks."

"Yeah, well you know the boss. He hates to ask Gibbs for help. We really could use another opinion; another set of eyes. The evidence isn't making much sense. We would really appreciate your input."

Andrews looked so hopeful. Tony hated turning him down, but with the experiment and all, he had little choice. Maybe later, at night when he came back, he would look over it and send his findings to Andrews in an email.

"Sorry, Andrews. I wish I could help. McGee and Ziva are currently co-Senior Field Agents. I have been temporarily asked to step down. They'll have to…"

"Yeah, I heard about the experiment. But listen…"

"What's going on, Tony?" McGee asked, extremely intrigued.

Tim and Ziva both left their desks and gathered around Tony's.

"Ah…well, you see…" Tony said, then Gibbs interrupted.

"All SFA's are consults on all ongoing cases. As SFA's, the junior agents and probies look up to you and value your expert opinions."

"Oh, well….Agent Andrews was it?" Tim asked.

"They should also know the personnel, McGee." Gibbs pointed out.

"Oh please, Gibbs. You telling us that you know everyone that works here at NCIS by name?" Ziva challenged.

"No, not everyone. Just the agents, new and old."

"We'll learn, Boss." McGee said before Gibbs got angry for Ziva's comment. "But in all fairness, Gibbs, you can't tell me that you believe DiNozzo knows every agent here."

Tony looked hurt, but covered that reaction quickly. "You're right, McGee. What do I know?" His forced and obviously sarcastic smile annoyed Gibbs. Tony should be getting angry and he was letting them get away with a lot of crap. They certainly said what they thought about him, it only seemed fair that Tony speak up. But that just wasn't DiNozzo.

"Tony…you shouldn't be so modest. I mean, you know everyone here. You learned their names and titles the second week you started here. My boss told me so. He's very impressed with you. Told us that he tried to get you to join our team a while back. Said Gibbs wouldn't allow it. You knew who I was the day I joined the team. Hell, you know all the probies before the team they're joining does."

Ziva, McGee and Keller stared at him. Gibbs was impressed, that was something he had not known, but it didn't surprise him that Tony went the extra mile to know the people he worked with.

"Agent DiNozzo? Did you know about me before my arrival prior to your team being notified?" Jessica asked him.

Tony didn't get the chance to answer, Agent Andrews loved to boast about one of his heroes. Tony was exactly the kind of agent that he wanted to be. He was still a junior agent himself, but he hoped to be a Senior Field Agent as good as DiNozzo.

"Oh, he knew. He just never says anything and pretends to be clueless."

That did surprise Gibbs. Tony told him everything that pertained to work.

"That's impressive. I was under the impression that Director Vance waited until the last minute to inform you all. How did you know and why not tell your team or team leader?"

Tony laughed nervously, "Well, you see…" He sighed, "I make it my responsibility to know the people I work with, whether directly or indirectly. We've had too many bad eggs slip through the cracks lately."

"I understand the need for that now, but why in the beginning. He said you did that since the second week you worked here."

"I don't know. I'm a people person, Agent Keller. It's good to know who you can trust in this line of work. Getting to know them as they arrive is a good way to assess their worth and loyalties."

"I see, and how did you find out about me? How is it that you know about all the agents as they arrive to work here?"

"I know the lady in Human Resources. Gayle DeLong. Very nice lady. She's constantly cooking me food to take home for dinner cause she thinks I don't eat enough decent food. She knows I usually eat pizza on a daily basis. Anyhow, she has a brother that was deployed on a carrier and never gets to talk to him. He's the only family she has left. Both her parents are dead, she doesn't have any other siblings and she doesn't have any children. So we made a deal. She keeps me informed of any new agents, and I make sure that she gets to talk to her brother on the carrier every month."

"How?"

"I worked it out with Director Morrow a long time ago. I'll admit now, since we have been through Director Sheppard and now Vance, it's a bit more difficult, but I manage."

They were quiet. No one could say anything they were so astonished.

"I must say, Agent DiNozzo, you are resourceful…and very kind. Not everyone would do what you do for her."

Tony said nothing and put his head down, hiding his eyes. Tim and Ziva were annoyed. He was getting praise again. He was probably making it all up. There was an easy way to find out. Probably got this agent to say that for him just to make him look good. Tony was good, he was a nice guy, but he was just too lazy to do what he was saying he did.

"Just looking out for my team, Agent Keller. You never know when one of your own may turn on you. Agent Lee for example."

"Ha, yeah. For someone who claims they know people real well, you definitely didn't see that one coming." McGee taunted.

Tony glared at him, "Well, what can I say, McKnowItAll, she fooled me. She fooled us all. I'm not perfect."

"Though you certainly think you are, Tony. Do not deny it." Ziva added.

Tony smirked, then turned to Agent Andrews again, who had been watching the entire conversation. "You'll have to show your evidence to Agent David and Agent McGee."

"You know, maybe I should just ask Agent Morris from…"

"Give'em a chance, Andrews. They may surprise you. They're very good agents, I promise you.." Tony said.

"Okay, I guess. Would one of you mind coming with…"

"Lead the way, Agent Andrews." The overexcited pair chimed in unison.

Agent Andrews shook his head, gave one last sympathetic look at Tony and led them away to his unit. Tony immediately immersed himself in his email. Gibbs waited until they were around the corner and out of earshot before he spoke.

"DiNozzo!"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Good work."

"Thank you, Boss. Why are you being nice?"

Gibbs laughed and shook his head, "Go down and check with Ducky. See if he found anything else that might help us narrow down our dirt bag."

"On it."

**12:00, Therapy Session:**

"I'm told that you're very close to your killer. That's happy news. We're going to pick up on some of the issues we have already touched on and get into some new ones."

"How has the experiment been going today, Agent McGee? Agent David? Any problems with your new Senior Field Agent duties?" She began.

"No, I think we are doing very well." Ziva answered for the both of them.

"How are you both feeling right now?"

"I am very happy. I feel like I am finally being treated as I should be." Ziva said.

"Why is that, Agent David? Were you treated so horribly before?"

"Not horribly, but like a…like a…" She could not think of the word she was looking for.

"A newbie?" Gibbs suggested.

"Yes, a newbie. I have been here for four years. I know this job inside and out and I am very good at it. Yet Gibbs still treats me like I am yellow."

"Green, Ziva. The term is green." Tony corrected her.

"Whatever. Green then. Gibbs treats me as though I do not know my job. And Tony, he has absolutely no boundaries and zero respect for personal space. He is always in my stuff and he is constantly correcting my English."

"That would seem as a helpful thing to me, correcting your English. So is the lack of boundaries what annoys you so about Agent DiNozzo? Is that why you find yourself so angry with him?"

"No. Though those things are childish, that is not it precisely. It is that he is nothing but childish all the time that irritates me. If we were in Israel, in Mossad, his behavior would not be tolerated."

"Miss David has a point." Vance offered, agreeing with her.

"This is not Mossad, Agent David." Gibbs said.

"I am aware of that, but sometimes I think that you would all do well to take a few things from Mossad to run NCIS. You may have more valuable agents, less leaks and in house deaths if you did."

"If you like Mossad so much, Agent David, you're free to return to Israel and your father. You're not forced to stay here." Gibbs challenged, knowing full well that was not what she wanted.

Ziva looked hurt. Keller noticed and decided that now would be a good time for her real feelings to come out, "Why do you look as though you've just been slapped, Ziva?"

Ziva eyes were tearing. She didn't want to say it, but she could hardly hold in her anger and frustration. Keller could see her barriers falling and knew that in a few minutes the truth would come out.

"Agent David? This is the time to let out how you feel. If there is something that you need to say, need to get off your chest, now is the time to say it. There are no repercussions here." Keller assured her.

Ziva's defenses were down and she finally cracked. She would hate herself later. All her Mossad training down the drain. Ziva started crying.

"You…you trust him more than me. I am the better agent here, Gibbs. You knew that from the first day you met me. I saved your life. I trusted you and you trusted me. I have more skills than he does. I am a better shot, I can use more than one kind of weapon. I have been trained as an assassin. I have more skills that are useful to you than DiNozzo does."

"Are you finished?" Gibbs asked, seeming rather cold in Keller's opinion.

"NO! You have been more of a father to me than my own father. I left Israel for you. I did not want to stay there. I obey your orders. I do my job well. I am becoming a citizen in order to work here permanently. I learn more skills everyday to be an agent you can be proud of and you still chose him over me! Why?"

"I will need someone to explain to me what she's talking about. Chose Tony over you for what?" Keller asked. It was obvious that she was not informed of everything that transpired here.

Gibbs didn't really want to get into this conversation, but knew it was coming whether he liked it or not.

Dr. Mallard saw his hesitation and decided to speak up, "You see, Miss Keller. Last year, Tony killed Ziva's boyfriend, Michael Rivkin. He was a spy and a active Mossad operative. Ziva did not know what he had been sent here for. The shooting was in self defense of course, but Ziva was quite disbelieving of Tony's innocence. So much, in fact, that she wouldn't talk to him, and almost killed him for it in retaliation. Gibbs got her looking at it in a different perspective and so they all went to Tel-Aviv. Director David of Mossad questioned Tony and Anthony tricked him into admitting that he sent Rivkin here himself to cause trouble. On the way back, Ziva told Gibbs that she could no longer work with Tony, and told Gibbs to choose. She demanded that one of them needed to be transferred to a different team."

"Oh, I see."

"He left me there." Ziva said breathlessly.

"I did." Gibbs said quietly.

"How could you just leave me there? How could you choose this clown over me?"

"Ziva, I tried to get him to bring you back." Tony began, but she wasn't hearing it.

"Shut up! It's always you, DiNozzo!" She turned back to Gibbs, "Why? You just left me there, you didn't even look back."

"I did. I would do it again." Gibbs said honestly.

"He always will, Ziva." Abby said calmly and confidently from her seat across from her. She knew her boss man all too well.

"Why?" Ziva's voice shook with rage.

"Tony's special. Has been since the day he got here. Gibbs and Tony have a connection that is as strong as blood. He's family, Ziva."

"You are family, Abby. I understand choosing you…but…"

"I think that Gibbs would even choose Tony over me. It's hard to explain, Ziva."

"Tony is my son, for better or worse." Gibbs finally admitted aloud.

Tony looked up at Gibbs. His eyes were clouded and his mask was almost completely gone. It meant more to him than anyone at that table would ever know, that Gibbs admitted this. His own father was a bastard and Gibbs had taken up that title without so much as a word.

"He is not your son, Gibbs." Ziva said angrily.

"He is. He may not be my biological son, but for all intents and purposes, he is. He looks out for me, I look out for him. He isn't afraid to tell me how he feels and he isn't afraid to stand up to me. There are things that you just wouldn't understand. Tony and I have been through a lot. He was there for all my hurts and I for his. I can't help but feel the way that I do…but I can tell you…that my paternal feelings for him are _**not**_ why I chose him as my Senior Field Agent."

"You are lying."

"No, I'm not. I may have mislead you once or twice. I may have withheld information, but I have never lied to you, Ziva. No matter what you may think, I have never lied to you. I have my reasons for making him Senior Field Agent."

"I want to know. I want to know exactly why you chose him over me. I want to know what makes him the better Senior Field Agent that you just cannot live without. I I need to know." Ziva demanded.

Gibbs sighed. This was exactly what he didn't want to have to do. This was all mushy stuff that he didn't want to talk about. Looks like he had little choice, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try to avoid it.

"That is my business. I'm team leader, I make my Senior Field Agent whoever I deem worthy. DiNozzo fits the bill."

"I think that it would be a good idea to explain to her so that this issue is cleared. She will not be able to move on without an explanation. It may also shed some light in Director Vance's eyes, seeing as how he shares Ziva and McGee's concerns about your choice of Senior Field Agent."

Gibbs thought for a moment. How could he give an answer and still be able to keep his personal life to himself?

"Tony would never ask." He finally said.

"What?" Ziva asked incredulously.

"Tony would never ask me to choose. That in itself is reason enough for me."

"That is cow shit." Ziva yelled.

"Bull shit, Ziva." Tim corrected her.

She ignored him, "Tony did not need to ask, he already had the job. Why DiNozzo?"

Gibbs glared at her, and she sat back down. "I made DiNozzo the SFA the tenth month that he was here. I met him in Baltimore. I was paired with him in a case that we had to share jurisdiction. At first I thought he was nothing but a goof off, but after the case, I was proved very wrong in my first assessment of Detective DiNozzo."

"Go on, Agent Gibbs." Keller was scribbling frantically in her notebook.

"He showed very good instincts and a kind and sympathetic heart while questioning witnesses. He was resourceful, alert, skilled in many areas of interrogation and follow-up. He was quick on his feet, imaginative when it came to figuring out who done it and why. For all his goofing off, sarcastic remarks and jokes, he was a damn good investigator."

"Indeed," Ducky chimed in, "Anthony had quite a reputation with the Baltimore PD and made a great impression on Jethro. He even saved Jethro's life during that sting, even though he was very wounded himself."

"So you made him your number one because he saved your life?" Ziva asked, annoyed.

"No, if that were the reason, you would also be a SFA. You have saved my life on several occasions. That's not why I made him SFA."

"Then why?"

"For all the reasons that you both are good candidates for the position and he doesn't take the credit."

"What?"

"He has several awards and commendations, most of which the two of you probably don't even know about. And not just from NCIS, but Baltimore PD, Peoria PD, and Philly PD. But when he filled out his application, he did not add them, and when he was here those first few months, he did not take credit for anything he did that was deserving of praise."

"That does not make sense. He is always yearning for your praise." Ziva countered.

"From me yes, but not in the grand scheme of things."

"That means very little."

"It means that he doesn't believe in receiving rewards for doing his job. He doesn't question why I make my decisions and he would never ask me to choose him over another member of the team he sees so much as family. That's why."

Ziva was stunned. She had nothing to say to this. It was clear that no matter what she said, she would lose the argument. Tony was the golden boy.

"Tony? Are you okay?" Keller asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He looked at Gibbs, "Thanks, Boss."

"No thanks needed, DiNozzo. You earned it."

"Okay, let's move on. McGee? You said that you had concerns about Tony's special treatment as well."

"I…well, it was kind of answered more or less. I just don't understand why Tony feels the need to tease me and haze me like he does."

"You really hate it, Probie?"

"Yeah, I do, DiNozzo."

"McGee. Do you remember what you were like when you first joined the team?"

"Yeah, pathetic. I've grown so much since then though, Boss."

"I know, McGee. You think that was all my doing?"

"I know it was, Boss."

"No, Tony was on you all the time about everything. He would pick at you, tease you, mess around with you. You couldn't handle it then, but you can now. In fact, you have pretty good comebacks lately. You don't stutter as you used to, you have a more firm grasp on your interrogation techniques. That wasn't all my doing."

McGee thought about this and realized what Gibbs was trying to tell him, "Tony was helping me."

"That's right, McGeek. You got a backbone now. You're not afraid of every little thing. You could even stand up to Gibbs if you had a little more confidence in yourself. You're interrogation skills have improved tenfold. You don't sweat under pressure anymore."

"DiNozzo helped to shape you, McGee. You would not be the agent or man you are now if not for Tony," Gibbs finished.

McGee thought about this and as annoyed as that fact made him, he nodded.

"I know that Tony's a good agent, Boss, but I still think that I'm more qualified for SFA than he is. He has little computer skills and frankly, his health is slipping, what with the plague and all. He shouldn't even be on active duty with the way his lungs are."

"Timothy! That was four years ago. He has been keeping very healthy. He has passed all his fitness exams and if I'm not mistaken, beats you in every relay race. That was cruel." Abby scolded.

"Alright, let's move on. You said that Tony had plague?"

"Yes, y-pestis to be precise. Anthony was very sick, but he pulled through at Jethro's order to live." Dr. Mallard smiled.

"That explains your concerned looks when he sniffs or sneezes. That, coupled with your earlier admission, now I understand. Okay, we can skip over that. The only thing that I wanted to touch on is about Agent Gibbs."

"Great." he snorted.

"You are very focused, Agent Gibbs. You are very into your work, and you rarely take the time to smile or laugh with your co-workers. You say this is your family, which leads me to believe that you lack contact with your real family. Why is it you're personal life is non-existent?" Keller asked.

"Jessica…" Tony began.

"This session is over." Gibbs said abruptly and stood. He left without so much as another word.

"What did I say?"

The others just sat and stared at her, sympathetic. They knew, but no one was going to tell her. They knew better. They stood and left as well, knowing that after Gibbs sudden departure, there would be nothing more discussed until the next time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Bullpen, two hours later: **

Tony, Tim, and Ziva sat silently at their desks, watching their gruff leader. Gibbs had been staring at his computer screen for the last two hours without saying so much as a word. Tony knew that he was thinking about how to keep his personal life from spilling out into their next session.

Tim sat at his desk pretending to be engrossed in the case. He was typing away at his computer, looking through all the files on their case, but not really seeing it. He was really thinking about their last therapy session. All the things he had learned about Tony and his Boss today was still floating around in his mind.

When he first joined the team, he was very green. He was afraid of Gibbs for sure and certain. He was always afraid of screwing up, of disappointing the gruff Federal Agent. He remembered meeting Tony and Kate for the first time. Kate, God rest her soul, was so sweet and kind. Even though as time went on, she picked on him, it was nothing like what Tony put him through. Kate was like a sister.

Tony was someone he thought he could look up to. If truth be told, he did look up to Tony…when he was serious. Tony was a good investigator, he couldn't deny that. Even with all of DiNozzo's childish antics, and movie references, he always had good insight into their current cases and usually was right on the money when he had a gut feeling about someone or something.

Tim looked over at Tony's desk. Tony was currently leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk with his eyes closed and hands laced over his chest. Tim shook his head and watched him sleep. Granted, Tony hadn't had a lot of sleep over the last few days, none of them had, but it was times like this when they were all busting their ass to work the case and he just lazed about that pissed Tim off.

Tim thought about it some more. If he was a betting man, and he was, he bet Tony would probably jump to attention when Gibbs barked for a report on their status of the case. He would have a full report to give, concise and informative, and he would probably top both his and Ziva's reports. That in itself pissed Tim off even more. How was it that a man who did very little work, had absolutely no computer skills at all and spent most of his work day either flirting or sleeping got the better of the two more qualified members of Gibbs team? It just had Tim completely astounded.

McGee shook his head again. Tony really was incredible and someone he wished he could be more like. Maybe, he thought to himself, that was why Tony's behavior bugged him so bad. Perhaps he was more annoyed by Tony's teasing, not because it made him feel inferior, but because behind all that, Tony really was better than he was. No….Tim shook his head again.

"Something wrong, McGee?" Abby asked.

Startled by her sudden presence, "No. Nothing. What's up Abbs?"

Gibbs looked up expectantly, "What do ya got, Abbs?"

"I got your killer's DNA. The blood on the handle of the knife from the last murder belongs to a Petty Officer Lance Sanders."

Gibbs grinned and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, "Let's go get him. Grab your gear."

Abby left as Tony, Tim, and Ziva grabbed their Sigs, badges and backpacks.

**Next day, 1200..Therapy Session:**

"Well, I understand that you apprehended your killer. Well done. So, since you have nothing after this, this session is going to be a little longer than the last ones."

She took in all the sighs and frustrated mutters gracefully.

"Now, I have looked into your files again. I need to apologize to Agent Gibbs. I didn't know that what I said brought up a sensitive subject. I will not make you relive your past. However, in my professional opinion, you should talk to someone about **them**. Someone you trust and someone you are comfortable with. It is clearly obvious that their deaths still effect you very much."

"Since you know, then move on." Gibbs growled.

Agent Keller pursed her lips together. His attitude about his dead wife and daughter bugged the crap out of her. He needed to get his feelings out, but it was obvious that the time and place was not here and now.

"Ok, a lot of new developments came out at the last session. You learned a great deal about Agent Gibbs and his feelings and relationship with Agent DiNozzo. I was wondering if either Agent McGee or Agent David changed their outlook on Tony at all after what they learned about him at all?"

"Just because DiNozzo is teacher's pet, doesn't mean I think he is the right man to be Gibbs Senior Field Agent." Ziva snapped, still clearly angry, but Agent Keller noticed something in her eyes. There was something she wasn't telling.

"I still have some issues with Tony, but I understand that there is more to Tony than meets the eye. I have been thinking a lot about what was said and realized that I was a very different person when I first joined the team."

"That's good."

"I know that Tony is good at his job; I know that he has a lot more experience than I do and that his former job as a cop helped him to become the agent he is today. I also understand that no matter what his personality is like, whether he is serious or childish, it does not in anyway affect his work." Tim confessed.

"Perhaps, you both would respect Tony more if you knew a little more about him. That goes for you too, Agent DiNozzo. Maybe you would understand why they are so upset with you if you knew more about them."

"Agent Keller, this is a Federal Agency. I have a rule that you leave your personal crap at home."

"Agent Gibbs, I have learned that this group of people is a family for you all. So leaving personal crap at home is simply not possible, not if you want this team to continue to work as efficiently as it always has been. You all only have mere glimpses into each others lives."

No one said anything. "Ok, so I'm going to talk and you are all going to listen. I don't want anyone to hold anything back and I don't want you all to feel embarrassed to speak about your lives yourselves. I just want you all to listen."

After another moment of silence she continued.

"Agent McGee is probably the most grounded person here. He still has both his parents and also has a younger sister. He keeps in contact with them, so his home life is efficiently grounded and stable."

"You can't tell I have contact with them just by looking at my file." McGee said.

"I know. I am an FBI Agent, McGee, I know how to investigate. I have talked to a bunch of your family members, friends, and co-workers. May I continue?" Jessica asked.

"Sorry."

"Agent McGee went to MIT and graduated with honors as I'm sure you all know. What you probably don't know is that when he was in both High School and MIT, he was picked on a lot. McGee tried to laugh off most of the jokes and hurtful remarks, but like any impressionable youth, they started to hit home pretty hard. Before you ask, Tim, your sister told me all about the talks you and she had in the middle of the night. You never told your parents about the teasing did you?"

McGee slouched in his chair a little, "No."

"Why not?"

"They were so proud of me, so happy that I was accepted at MIT that I didn't want to ruin their happiness to tell them I hated school. Dropping out of school would have broken their hearts."

Tony's mouth dropped open at this and he dropped his head.

"Ah, Probie…I'm sorry. I was trying to toughen you up, buddy. I didn't know that it all brought back terrible memories. I wasn't razzing on you to make you feel bad. I knew that you were new to the whole team scene and that you were scared of Gibbs, I thought that if you could deal with my shit that you could work under Gibbs no problem. I'm sorry, Tim."

"It worked, DiNozzo. If you hadn't been the person you are, he would not have fit in here as well as he does."

"Yeah, but Gibbs…"

"Don't feel bad about it. Tim didn't. If you think about it McGee, Tony busting on you only made you more determined to do you best and buck up. You learned, in a matter of two years how to deal with DiNozzo, this agency, suspects, crying women, tough metro cops and me. You know deep down that Tony meant nothing by anything he said. Did you really take all his crap seriously, or did you know that he was joking?"

"That's true, Boss. I always knew that DiNozzo was joking," Tim sat up straight, a look of realization on his face, "And you never praised him for stuff you knew I figured out even thought Tony told you about it. You always knew who found what info and when. I always got the praise I deserved and I never appreciated that till now. I'm sorry, Boss."

"Don't apologize to me. Rule number six, sign…"

"I know, Boss, sign of weakness." McGee said.

"I have been hearing about a lot of those 'rules'. I want to talk about those later. To continue," Agent Keller interrupted, "To add to the story of Agent McGee, I also found out something I bet none of you ever thought would apply to your fellow partner. His sister told me that he used to talk about suicide often."

Abby gasped, Doctor Mallard drew in a deep breath and Tony's head snapped in Tim's direction so fast she thought she actually heard it. Gibbs just stared, looking as though he already knew, but she was pretty sure he hadn't. Ziva and Palmer were completely stunned.

"Probie…you really thought about taking your life?" Tony asked, completely taken by surprise.

"I…well…(sighs)..yeah. I never tried, just thought about it. It's not a big deal."

"That's a very big deal, Timothy." Ducky said.

"Ok, now you learned a bit about Tim, let's move on and not dwell. I didn't tell you that to make you feel sorry for Agent McGee. It was just supposed to make you think about your actions towards him thus far and his reactions to your behaviors, not just Tony, but all of you. So, let us move on Agent David."

They all nodded, some still giving Tim sympathetic and shocked looks. They turned their attention back to Agent Keller and waited for her to continue.

"Agent David you all know was originally a Mossad Assassin. You also know that her father is none other than Mossad Director Eli David. So you can imagine her childhood: secrets, intense training, danger and mayhem. Not the normal childhood. I'm also sure she has revealed that her father is not the man she thought he was, neither was her brother."

"Yes, we are aware of her thoughts on Director David and Ari. That is the reason she is here. Her distrust in her family is what made her want to be a citizen of the United States." Director Vance chimed in informatively.

"Yes, Director. Do all of you know that she also had a sister?"

Gibbs nodded once, as did the Director, Ducky and Tony. The others shook their heads.

"For those of you that don't know, her sister Tali was killed, rather violently. Now you know that Ari was only a half brother, Tali was her blood sister. Tali was very young yet. She blames herself often for her death. Since the whole debacle with Ari, her father and now this mess with Mr. Rivkin, she doesn't trust a lot of people. I have observed for myself and I believe the real reason she is at odds with Tony is because Gibbs feels a fatherly responsibility towards him and not to her. This is what she so desperately wants, and has been denied."

Gibbs looked over at Ziva and saw the tears welled up in her eyes. He knew that her family was not the kind of family she wanted, and knew that she respected him more than her own father, but he had no idea that she was jealous of the close relationship he shared with Tony. He always thought the jealously was because of Tony's status on the team.

"I didn't know that Gibbs thought of me as a son. I just thought that since I have been on the team longer, that he and I had a really good friendship and that he felt the need to teach me because I was still young." Tony explained.

"I just…I have learned over the years that my father, the one man in my life I am supposed to be able to trust, is a liar. He cares not for me, but what I can do for him. He has never been honest to me and….he used me more than once in Israel and here against NCIS. From the beginning, Gibbs did not fully trust me. But after digging and digging and then eventually testing me, he learned that I would have his back. I saved his life. It was the first time that someone respected my abilities without an ulterior motive and it was the first time someone cared about my feelings."

"Agent David…"

"Let me finish, Agent Keller." She wiped her tears, and looked at Tony. "I think of Gibbs as my father now. I have for a long time and I thought that he knew that. I **hate** that he is so much more open with you about his life. I **hate** that he looks out for you outside of work, like when you are sick or having trouble with your apartment. I **hate** it that he works so hard to shape you into the perfect image of himself. I **hate** that you know things about him that I do not. I **hate **the kind, caring looks he gives you when he thinks no one is looking. And when he left me in Israel, I knew then…that you mattered more to him than I did. I am not mad at you for killing Michael…I think I have always known that you would never kill anyone out of jealousy, and you would never murder anyone I cared about. I was more angry that Gibbs took your side immediately and did not even once consider how I felt. His priority was to see if you were ok and try to convince me of **your** innocence. Gibbs never even once thought, it never crossed his mind, that maybe you were wrong. He does not think badly of you, Tony. Never."

"Ziva…" Tony started.

"Do not interrupt me. I know that you are a good agent. I think this annoyance I have with you is more about myself than you. I do not hate you, Tony. I think maybe, I wish I was you, in the sense that I wish I mattered as much to Gibbs as you do."

"Ziva…you are all my family. I look out for all of you. I can't explain why Tony is different. He just…is." Gibbs tried to explain.

Ziva shook her head and through tears chuckled.

"I can answer that."

They turned to look at Agent Keller.

"Let me explain. I think Agent Gibbs knows exactly why Tony is different, why Tony is so special. You all know about his wife and daughter…so I'll skip that review. What you don't know, and this took me some time to find, is that Tony's life was not all it was cracked up to be."

Tony's eyes opened very wide and he suddenly felt the need to bolt. Gibbs laid a hand on his shoulder to keep him from panicking. That simple gesture seemed to calm him down.

"Agent DiNozzo, as you know, had a very interesting childhood. However, it is not as glamorous as I think you believe it to be. You may have read his file, but he has left a lot out. You have all met his father, Anthony DiNozzo Senior. This man is a very well known businessman. He has a lot of money. So, you all think that Tony lived the life of a rich, spoiled kid. This is very wrong. I talked to a few of your frat buddies, and your nanny. Tony was disowned at a very young age and completely taken out of the will. He gets nothing from his father. I'm sure you may have heard something like this."

Nods all around the table, "However, what you don't know are the stories I got from the friends and nanny. That charismatic man is not to be admired. Tony was beaten often after his mother died. His father drank a lot, and blamed Tony for her death and let him know it every chance he got. Tony was left in small, dark places when he was naughty. He was never taken on vacations like you McGee, never taught any skills like you Ziva. He was beaten when he accidently knocked over a vase, or slapped when he cried too much. Then, to get rid of him, he was shipped off to military school. He made a life for himself there, went to college, became a cop. All of these are things that his father hates and disapproves of. So even as an adult, his father ignores him, puts him down and pretends that he does not exist. I believe that Gibbs feels the need to father him because Tony needs a real father and because Gibbs misses and needs to be one."

Well, their whole life out in the open. Tony looked so embarrassed like he wanted to just disappear. Gibbs, was pissed off and ready to drag DiNozzo out of there. Gibbs hands were fisted. He had a feeling that DiNozzo might have been abused as a child, but hearing it confirmed made him want to kill DiNozzo Senior.

"I suspected as much."

"Ducky?" Tony said astounded.

"Yes, Anthony. When you're father was here, I knew I didn't like that man. He was always so arrogant, gave you very little praise or even attention. He acted as though you were more a servant than a son. Then there are your medical records, my boy."

Tony closed his eyes and winced. He didn't think that Ducky would look that far into his medical records.

"Miss Scuito, you don't look all that surprised by this."

"Well, Agent Keller, Gibbs and I had our suspicions. We knew that Tony would never want to talk about it and we just gave him what he needed. A family he could trust. That was all that ever had to be said. We figured that if he wanted to talk about it…he would come to us."

"And you two? You look appalled."

"You really got hit when you were little Tony?" McGee asked.

"Beat, McGee."

"How? I mean, like just punched or kicked or what?"

"You want details, McGee?" Tony said angrily, "Let's see, I was hit and kicked sometimes when he didn't feel like being inventive. He struck me with a glass jar once when I accidentally spilled my grape juice on his favorite chair. He broke my arm when I asked to join the basketball team claiming that I wanted to play sports. Whipped me with his belt sixteen times when I asked to have friends over during one of his important dinner meetings. I was taken to the hospital for 'falling down the stairs' after I was snooping in his office for a calculator. He thought I was doing something else, what I never found out. What really happened I'm not completely sure on. I took a hit to the head and all I remember was waking up in the hospital. I had a three broken ribs, concussion, sprained wrist and busted my knee. That enough for you McGee?"

"DiNozzo."

"What, Boss?"

"Simmer down. Take a deep breath. Calm."

"Right, I'm okay, Boss."

"All of this is the reason that Gibbs is so concerned about Tony's health. Not only has he taken a lot of beatings on the job, wounded and suffering from the plague, but his childhood left him scarred and wounded too. Did you all know that Gibbs is DiNozzo's next of kin?"

"I did…but as I'm both Jethro and Tony's personal physician, I would know that. Gibbs was appointed his next of kin the second year he was here." Ducky explained.

Gibbs cell rang and he answered, "Gibbs."

After a moment and a quick ok, he snapped his cell shut and looked up.

"Grab your gear, dead marine at Quantico. Tony…gas the truck. McGee, David… take the sedan, DiNozzo and I will meet you there. Get started on working the scene. We'll be right behind you. I want it tight."

"Remember, you are both the Senior Field Agents for three more days. I'll send you all an email on our next session." Agent Keller reminded them.

The pair of them, look completely perplexed and astounded, could only nod their heads. They kept sending furtive glances over their shoulders at Tony and Gibbs. They didn't even know what to say. Tony was staring after them. He didn't know what to say either. He had learned more about them in the last hour and a half than he had in past seven years of working with them.

The idea that McGee had actually thought about killing himself just blew his mind. He just couldn't conceive any reason for the young man to ever think that way. Tim was like a computer. There was a set of rules for everything. He just didn't think that suicide would even be a line of code in the probie's brain.

He knew a little bit more about Ziva, but it had never occurred to him that all this pent up anger towards him was jealousy. He thought that after he had shot Rivkin, that all her animosity derived from that incident. To think that this was merely about who got and deserved Gibbs attention more was just weird. He just couldn't understand.

Agent Keller watched as the group left the room. She could practically see all the cogs switching to overdrive as they tried to process all the new information they had just learned. Next session she had a few more tricks up her sleeve. She had only dug into the past of the main team. She had yet to peruse the past of Abby, Palmer, the good doctor and the director.

She hurried to catch up to Ziva and McGee. She needed to observe them now that they had all this information. Could they still do their job? And were they really telling the truth about their experiences as Senior Field Agents?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**NCIS Response Vehicle:**

Gibbs and Tony were completely silent. Tony was staring out the window, oblivious to the cautious looks Gibbs was giving him every few minutes. Jethro knew that with Tony's life out in the open like this, he was going to draw back into himself. He knew that the outward appearance that Tony liked to show others was just a mask. The real man behind that carefree, silly, frat boy persona was fragile and still very much a boy in many ways. He had been deprived of so much and yet still grew up to be a better man than most Jethro had ever met in his lifetime.

Gibbs watched Tony when they reached a stop light. Tony's mask was slipping; it was almost non-existent. He could just make out the red around his eyes that he didn't want Gibbs to see and the way his hands shook in his pocket.

Gibbs heart ached for his surrogate son. The need to protect him was more present now than it had been before. He knew the most about Tony's life, or had figured it out on his own…but having most of what he had guessed about Tony's life confirmed just made him feel more protective. Ziva had been right during her ranting and raving. He could not imagine a team….hell he couldn't imagine life without Tony in it.

He let the silence go on for another ten minutes before he spoke.

"You're not weak, DiNozzo." Gibbs said quietly.

Tony looked over at his boss. His first reaction was not to believe him, but when he saw Gibbs steely blue eyes soften, he knew he hadn't been lied to. His whole life he had been told what a good for nothing he was. How he was so damn weak to not be able to take a punch was a common statement from his father. He had been told over and over that he was useless and would never amount to nothing.

Gibbs had always made him feel that he was anything but nothing. Looking into those eyes now, he was reminded of how grateful he was to have Gibbs in his life. He forced a meek smile.

"Thanks, Boss."

He turned his attention to the road, not wanting to cry. He was a DiNozzo. DiNozzo's didn't cry. He laughed inwardly; that was his father talking. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to forget what he had been taught. It didn't matter anymore. Gibbs had taught him far more than his father ever had. Gibbs had taught him what it was to be a real man. He taught him that there was plenty to live for, more than enough to fight for. He had even taught him was love was really like…even though neither of them showed it freely or obviously.

"DiNozzo, no matter what was said today, or what will be said…you turned out alright. You were a good cop. You are a good agent….and the best son a father could ever have. You understand me?" Gibbs said without looking at him.

Tony looked at him, the mask completely gone now. That meant more to him than anything in the world. He smiled the first real smile in days.

"I gotcha, Boss."

Satisfied that Tony would be alright, he turned on the radio.

"You're not a bad father either, Boss."

Gibbs, shocked, swerved at that statement, almost hitting a parked car on the side of the road. Once the truck was under control again, Tony continued.

"Just wanted to let you know. I don't care what anyone says. As far as I'm concerned, for better or worse, you are my father."

DiNozzo turned up the radio and the pair, content smiles on their faces, rode the rest of the drive in silence.

**Crime Scene; Quantico:**

Agent Keller watched as the team processed the new crime scene with as much precision and professionalism as the first one. Nothing had changed as far as their work ethic. She thought that the personal information they had learned would have effected their work more, but she was wrong.

She was most concerned about Tony, him having the worst kind of background. Child abuse was no joke. The fact that he even had to contend with an abusive father was heartbreaking. Even so, Tony turned out nothing like his old man. It seemed that he was doing fine however after their session.

Gibbs looked less stressed and Tony was back to his normal chatty self. Whatever Gibbs had said to him on the way to the scene, she was glad he had. She was also glad that Ziva and McGee hadn't decided to ask him all kinds of questions about it. They were also being very careful not to stare at him. They were talking about the session in the car. They had so many questions, but thankfully they knew better than to bring it up here.

Agent Keller concentrated on observing the two temporary Senior Field Agents. She needed to see if they really were getting what kind of job Tony had had all these years. She needed to be sure that they understood that his job was no easy one and that him making it look simple just proves was a good Senior Field Agent Tony was. If they couldn't respect him, she wasn't sure if this team would ever be the same again. Though, after learning a bit about their concerns, she felt they were getting closer to a resolution.

Ziva's anger toward Tony had been misplaced. She was more angry with herself. Her jealousy made her feel horrible and therefore was more mad at herself for feeling that way when she knew she had been taught better. That was what caused Ziva's disrespect for the most part. Keller also thought that she just didn't understand enough about the SFA job. That went for McGee as well. Neither of them even knew what that position meant and therefore could not comprehend what it would be like to do it. Hopefully this would clear everything up and show them the reality of just what Tony undertook on a daily basis. His ability to make it seem so simple was just his excellent performance on the job.

She watched as Ziva bagged evidence. McGee was in charge of photographing the body and the scene. Tony had disappeared and was canvassing the area to see if anyone had seen anything. Gibbs was taking statements from the responding MP's. Dr. Mallard, now finished with his work, was loading the body in his van. He and Mr. Palmer were getting ready to head back to the Navy Yard.

Suddenly, shots rang out and everyone hit the deck, everyone accept Gibbs team. Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee pulled their weapons and crouched behind vehicles for cover. There had been two shots, then silence. Gibbs looked around to see if anyone was hurt. His face fell, "Where's DiNozzo?"

"Oh, no. Tony." McGee whispered.

"Boss?" Tony's voice drifted towards them.

The four of them stood and saw Tony limping toward them.

"DiNozzo! You okay?" Gibbs asked, concern etched in every line on his face.

"Fine, Boss. I was over there near the track. The man I was questioning, a Lieutenant Arron Crawley, was acting kinda jumpy. When I got to the part where I wanted him to come down to the Navy Yard, he just freaked out. He tackled me, hit me over the head with his fist and grabbed his sidearm from his gym bag. He shot at me, but luckily I had my gun drawn just as quickly and fired at the same time. I moved just enough to stay alive, but he got me in the leg. It's just a scratch.." Tony said quickly, noticing the panic in Gibbs eyes.

"The suspect?"

"Dead, Boss."

"Good work, DiNozzo. Ducky?" Gibbs said, then yelled for the Doc.

"I'm here, Jethro. Let me have a look, Anthony."

"DiNozzo, you go back with Ducky."

"I can finish up here, Boss. Really, it's not bad."

"You're going. Ducky, make sure he gets that taken care of."

"I shall take care of it personally, Jethro. His leg was grazed. Nothing too serious. Come on, my boy."

Dr. Mallard and Jimmy helped Tony to the van and they left. Gibbs handed McGee Tony's weapon, "You two, process the other body. Call for another medical examiner. Ducky can do the autopsy when he is done with DiNozzo." "You want us to process it by ourselves?" Ziva asked.

McGee bagged Tony's weapon and looked at Gibbs just as curiously.

"Yes. I will finish up here, there is still lots to do. I need you to process the other scene. Have one of the MP's tape it off and get started. When you're done, meet me back at headquarters."

Gibbs started walking toward the truck. His body was gone and he only had a few things to finish up here. As soon as he was done, he would head back to check on Tony. Keller watched as a look of panic rose on both Ziva and McGee's faces.

"Wait, Gibbs. We have never processed a scene all by ourselves. You're not even going to help? I mean…" McGee stuttered at Gibbs stern look, "What I mean is…neither of us have done it alone. I know bag all evidence, tag it, sign it. I know that the scene needs to be photographed and the body. I know the basics, but Boss, we have no idea what it is you do to clear a scene. We don't know who we have to talk to about….."

Gibbs interrupted, "This is what it means to be a Senior Field Agent, McGee. Tony does this all the time. It's simple. Tape off the scene. Take lots of pictures, bag whatever evidence you feel is pertinent. Talk to the Base Commander, get all the information you can on Lieutenant Crawley. I want his entire background from birth to now. Make sure the Coroner gives you TOD and COD, and tell him the destination is the Navy Yard. Take any and all statements from people who witnessed the Lieutenant shoot DiNozzo and then when you are both satisfied, clear the scene and follow the body back. Can you handle that?" Gibbs explained.

"Yes, Gibbs. Go check on Tony."

Keller saw that they were, for the first time, overwhelmed. She watched as they left to process the other scene. Gibbs finished up his scene and then the pair of them got into the truck and drove back to the Navy Yard.

She looked over at Gibbs, "Agent Gibbs, you told Tony he did a good job."

"Yeah."

"He shot and killed the suspect. You have nothing now. Case is over and done because he screwed up."

"He didn't screw up, Agent Keller. His life was threatened, he had two choices. Die or stay alive. He did what I have trained him to do. We are not like the FBI. My people shoot to kill."

The rest of the drive was silent accept for the radio. She would forever understand why the FBI hated NCIS. They did everything completely opposite from how the FBI was trained to handle things. The second they got back, Gibbs had the evidence put into the evidence vault and parked the truck inside the garage. He made sure to check on Tony before anything else. He went down to tell Abby what had happened and then called McGee for a status report.

Agent Keller spent the rest of the afternoon working at her desk. Before leaving for the night, she sent out an email for their next session.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"How is he, Duck?" Gibbs asked as he walked briskly into Autopsy the next morning.

Ducky insisted that Tony see him first thing in the morning just to double check on his slight injury. Gibbs was over protective of the lad and Ducky knew that Gibbs would be in to ask the second he got to work.

"Ah, Jethro. Anthony will be just fine. The bullet just grazed his thigh."

"I told you, Boss, just a scratch."

"Uh, huh. Never believe what you're told, DiNozzo."

"Yeah I know, Boss. Never assume and always double check."

"There you are, Anthony. Change the bandage every six hours and make sure you clean it thoroughly."

"I know, Ducky, thanks."

Tony hopped off the morgue table. He and Gibbs made their way back to the bullpen. McGee and Ziva had yet to return. Gibbs resumed his paperwork, closing up the case report. With their suspect dead, the case was all but closed. Tony looked into the cold case files once again.

"Hey ya, Tony."

"Agent Andrews."

"Heard you got shot at a crime scene."

Agent Keller walked to her desk, but openly eavesdropped on their conversation. Gibbs kept working, but listened in as well.

"Happy news travels fast. I just got grazed."

"Gibbs get the guy who did it?"

Tony laughed, "Saying I can't take care of myself?"

"Not at all, but it's the worst kept secret here at NCIS."

"What is?"

"Gibbs is very protective of you. We all remember what happened when you had the plague. He went on a rampage. That time when Vance sent you away to be Agent Afloat, he was livid. I mean he was a real bear. He complained daily about how his new team couldn't hold a candle to you."

"That's touching, Boss."

"Sorry, Agent Gibbs."

"Don't apologize for telling the truth, Andrews."

"So, why are you here, Andrews? If you're looking for Ziva or McGee, they're not back from the crime scene yet."

"Actually, you see...it's like this..."

He fingered the file in his hand.

"I was...I thought...maybe..."

Gibbs was losing his patience, "Spit it out, Andrews!"

"Neither Agent McGee or Agent David have gotten back to me about our case yet. I know they have their plate full, what with the other six cases they agreed to look over, but ours is kinda time sensitive. They swore they would get back to me the next day. We really need the help and I know they're busy, but..."

"I'm not allowed to help. It's not that I don't want to. I promised not to interfere. Only Senior Field Agents are experienced enough to lend their expertise to other ongoing cases."

"I know, but we're really, really stumped. We're in a real bind. The boss is going nuts. Please, Tony."

"Andrews, I can't..."

"Do it, Tony." Gibbs said.

"Agent Gibbs! The deal was that Tony was not to interfere or help out in anyway. They are supposed to fulfill the job of SFA all on their own." Keller reminded him.

"So, what? While McGee and Ziva struggle to grasp the job of Senior Field Agent, other active cases suffer?"

Agent Keller had nothing to say.

"Now, DiNozzo. Look over the case. I assume this is important, Andrews."

"Yes, Gibbs. Murder of a Navy Petty Officer and her eleven year old daughter is missing. Husband has been out of the picture, but he has a solid alibi."

"There is a missing kid? Damn it! This should have been a priority."

"They did say they would get back to me next day, but..."

"I will deal with them."

"Thanks, Gibbs. You too DiNozzo."

"Not a problem. The file?"

Agent Andrews handed over the file. He came around so he could read over DiNozzo's shoulder and answer any questions he might have had. McGee and Ziva arrived forty five minutes later. They eyed Tony and Andrews.

"What kept ya?" Gibbs asked.

Keller turned around again.

"Um, clearing the scene was new for us, Boss." McGee said, watching Tony carefully.

"Yes, Gibbs," Ziva started, "It was difficult, but we finished and everything is in the evidence garage...What's going on here?"

Ziva approached Tony's desk and snatched the file out of his hand.

"Ziva...I need that."

"This is Agent Andrews case file isn't it? You were told not to interfere."

"Ziva, I'm not..."

"You are!"

"Gibbs told me to..."

"Gibbs!"

"Agent David!" Gibbs barked, "I gave Tony an order. Give DiNozzo the file."

Ziva hesitated, "Now." He ordered.

She handed the file back and Tony continued perusing. Another agent then brought a box of evidence from Andrews case to Tony's desk. They watched as he signed for it.

"I demand an explanation, Gibbs." Ziva said.

"So do I. McGee," he wiggled a finger, bringing McGee next to Ziva.

Gibbs looked at them both, his anger just barely contained, "You both told Agent Andrews you would look over his case file and get back to him next day."

"We were busy, Gibbs. We didn't have the time to..." McGee explained.

"Don't make promises you can't keep McGee."

"We had to take it, Boss. We needed to..."

"Show up, DiNozzo? Prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can do his job better than he can?"

"Well, we genuinely wanted to help, but yeah, Boss, that was part of it."

A snort was heard behind them. Agent Andrews looked at them, "Tony is one of a kind Agent McGee."

That hurt Tim's feelings.

"That why you agreed to look into the other six cases?" Gibbs asked.

McGee and Ziva wondered how he knew, but answered him.

"We did. McGee took half, as did I."

"Did you even read any of them?"

"We did not have time, Gibbs." Ziva repeated.

"You should have. Andrews case involves a MISSING eleven year old girl! It's now possible she may be dead because you couldn't keep your word. I have DiNozzo checking into it now. I suggest you get on those remaining six cases before you let another team down."

They sat down silently to do just that.

"I don't suppose either of you finished the supply requisition or handed in the payroll and paid time off forms to Vance yet?"

"We weren't aware those were our jobs. You're the boss, Boss." Tim stammered in the attempt to defend himself.

"You haven't asked me once to explain to you your job description. I hate paperwork, McGee. Tony has learned to anticipate. He took on the responsibility of doing the mundane paperwork all on his own. Neither of you would have vacation pay if not for DiNozzo."

"We had no idea, Boss."

"There was no way that McGee or I could have..."

"All you had to do was ask. You thought you could figure out his duties just by guessing?"

"We see what he does in a day, Gibbs. We assumed between what we knew and the manual, we had everything covered."

"You were wrong. Never assume."

"Boss! I think I know where the little girl is." Tony announced, having completely missed the conversation.

Ziva and Tim were glaring at him.

"Go, Tony. Watch you six."

"On it, Boss."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

McGee sat at his desk, silently brooding as he read over the three files he promised to give his input on. He'd been reading the same sentence for the last twenty minutes. His mind was still on his partner. Tony had been gone for two hours now. McGee kept looking over at Tony's desk, wondering what kind of progress Tony was making out in the field.

'Damn him!' McGee thought.

Tony had gotten one over on him yet again. He still managed to make him look bad in front of Gibbs. Sometimes he just felt like wringing DiNozzo's neck.

The previous therapy session renewed the guilt he felt for Tony. He couldn't and wouldn't ever do that to him. He truly felt sorry for his partner. No child should ever have to go through what Tony had been forced to endure. That excused his childish antics. The bottom line, however, was that no matter how much DiNozzo screwed up, lazed about and goofed off, he was never in trouble with Gibbs. Somehow, he was always a step ahead. He would pay for that. If Tony wasn't on Gibbs' team, then McGee would be SFA, real work would get done and no one would call him Probie again.

He gave himself a pat on the back at those thoughts and forced himself to concentrate. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could break three cases before Tony got back to headquarters.

Ziva could only fume. She briefly skimmed her three files, but grew tired of that quickly. Since Tony and that Andrews bastard left, she had been furiously slamming desk drawers, hitting keys, shaking her computer screen and stomping around the bullpen with absolute rage.

Gibbs had eventually given her the settle down glare. She was currently staring at her screen, feigning work, while actually thinking of how she could rise above Tony to Gibbs' second where she belonged.

She understood now that part of her jealousy was sibling rivalry, but there was more to it. She was trained by the best. She followed orders. She learned very early on to work hard and long. Tony was childish, lazy, obnoxious, disobedient to his superiors, with the exception of Gibbs, and he had absolutely no respect for authority.

Gibbs was not supposed to play favorites. She had to make him see that, 'son' in his heart or not, Tony was a completely unacceptable Senior Field Agent. She would never understand how Tony ever got his work done. She had her suspicions. It would be very easy for the famous DiNozzo charm to win over most anyone. She had a feeling that was how he got Agent Andrews to speak up on his behalf. He could easily sweet talk other agents into doing some of his leg work when he didn't feel like it. They had one more day to prove themselves. They needed to make this last day count.

Gibbs was at his wit's end. He was done waiting for the ball to drop. He wsa done glaring angrily at the dirty looks his agents sent DiNozzo's way. He was done watching Tony slip behind his mask of indifference to hide his growing inferiority. This episode would not break his surrogate son. He wouldn't allow it.

Agent Keller's plan wasn't working. He had agreed to go along with it in the beginning, thinking perhaps they would start to get it. Now he knew that Keller's experiment was only making matters worse. It was time to play this game his way. He was going to change the rules and if his agents didn't change their tune, then he would have some serious decisions to make.

He stood abruptly. Ziva looked up and McGee jumped a little. He let a small smile flicker across his face before the stern marine returned.

"Go home. Get some sleep."

They hurriedly packed up, grabbed their files and signed off their computers.

"See you tomorrow, Boss." McGee waved.

"Have a good night, Gibbs." Ziva said politely, though he could hear the underlying hostility that was still burning hot.

Agent Keller stepped off the elevator as Tim and Ziva entered.

"See you both at tomorrow's session."

They muttered their goodbyes and pressed the down button. She shook her head and continued on to her desk.

"Agent Gibbs." She said in passing.

"Agent Keller."

He cleaned up his desk as she took her seat and then picked up his phone, calling Agent Andrews boss, Agent Rob Daubert. He waited for the man to answer.

"Hey, how you doing Rob?"

Keller leaned back to listen, but continued scrolling through her notes on her laptop.

"I've had better weeks. I'm calling to get a status report. You can't keep my agent, Rob."

He grinned at what the other man told him, "That's great, Rob. Can I talk to him?"

Keller whipped around quickly. She wondered whether or not Agent DiNozzo was successful in finding the girl that was missing.

"Agent DiNozzo has returned?"

Gibbs gave her a curt nod and listened as Tony picked up the phone.

"That's a good job, DiNozzo. She alright?"

Guess that answered Keller's question. The girl had been found.

"Make sure you get Ducky to check her out before you release her into her father's custody."

Gibbs frowned, knowing full well that Agent Keller was watching him like a hawk. It was time to set his plan in motion. He pretended to try and be discreet and turned away from her to get some privacy, but spoke loud enough that he knew she could hear him clearly anyway.

"My place tonight, DiNozzo. We'll talk. I'll bring pizza, you bring the beer."

He waited while Tony eagerly agreed and said goodbye.

"Alright, sounds good. I'll see you in an hour."

He hung up the phone. Keller, completely intrigued, watched Gibbs body language closely. His tone when he hung up the phone was strained and abnormally gentle. She was used to the growling grizzly bear. His muscles tensed and his brow was tightly knit. She watched as he ran a hand through his silver hair. He heaved a heavy sigh and squeezed his eyes shut. He picked up the phone again to order the pizza he promised Tony. He would grab another coffee on his way home.

"I'm going to see the Director."

Keller made notes to bring up his strange behavior at tomorrow's session. She was very curious to know what was said in that cryptic conversation. From what little of the conversation she heard, Agent DiNozzo was back in the Navy Yard and safe. The girl he went looking for was safe. What could have possibly caused that tense reaction in the steely marine.

Agent Keller packed up her things, shut down her laptop and went home. Tomorrow was the last day of the experiment. It would be an interesting session. If nothing else, Tony would be happy to have things returned to normal.

NCIS *** NCIS *** NCIS *** NCIS *** NCIS *** NCIS

Everyone came in at different times. Their next therapy session was fairly early, so Vance made certain that all call outs went to the other teams. Vance and Keller spent an hour talking about her observations and enjoyed a breakfast danish and coffe.

McGee came in early to give his findings to the three teams who asked for his help. He spent the entire night working on them. He didn't find much, but he showed them places to look if all else failed.

Ziva was a little late, but was pleased to see that no one from team Gibbs was in the bullpen to witness her tardiness. She stayed up until 4 A.M. working on the three cases she had agreed to look into. She managed to find a clue in one of them that didn't add up. The other two cases were dead ends. Nothing jumped out at her that could be of any help to them. She sat at her desk and checked her mail while she waited to join the rest of the team in their next session.

Gibbs stood at the top of the stairs. Their next session was in twenty minutes. God, this was getting annoying. He couldn't wait till this was all over. He turned when Vance and Keller exited the director's office. The three of them went down to the conference room together. There they waited for the rest of the team to join them.

Everyone convened inside the usual conference room at 9 A.M. Everyone was seated quietly around the large table, everyone that is, except Agent DiNozzo. As they sat down, Agent Keller went to the door and looked out into the hallway. She returned to her seat and started opening her notes.

"We'll give Agent DiNozzo a few more minutes."

Gibbs and Vance exchanged a pained look. Jessica Keller was the first to notice.

"Something I should know, gentleman?"

"DiNozzo is probably running late, Agent Keller. It happens a lot. I wouldn't worry about it." McGee informed her.

"No, McGee. He is **NOT** late. I hope the two of you are happy with yourselves." Gibbs barked.

All eyes were suddenly on Gibbs. There was hidden meaning behind that statement and everyone heard it regardless of whether he meant them to or not.

"What does that mean?" Ziva asked.

"Tony isn't coming," He let that information sink in. He watched as Abby's lip began to quiver. He saw realization spread on Ducky's face. Sadness and anger were mixed and twisted on Palmer's face. Ziva, McGee and Keller's confusion was about to become shock.

"DiNozzo quit!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Abby's tears started slow. She was trying her best to hold back the rip tide at all costs. She didn't want to lose it, but she couldn't help it. Tony was her best friend. Tony couldn't have quit. He just wouldn't, not her lovable, adorable, and loyal Tony Bear. He would have sent something, an email or a text, warning her about something like this. He would have told her himself.

"Gibbs," Her voice trembled, "He's coming back. This is a joke...right?"

"No, Miss Scuito," Director Vance assured, "Agent DiNozzo handed me his resignation this morning."

Abby turned and buried her face in Ducky's checkered shirt. Ducky patted her back, his eyes locked on Gibbs.

"Oh, Jethro. Did you try talking to Anthony?"

Agent Keller stepped in, "You told him to be at your place last night."

"You make a habit out of eavesdropping, Agent Keller?"

"Yes, Agent Gibbs. It helps me to do my job."

"Yes, DiNozzo was at my house. I tried to talk him out of it. I told him that we needed him here. I told him that he had friends here. He insisted that there was no better solution. He said he would miss you all, but he didn't want to be a burden to anyone anymore."

"He was never a burden! Tony was the best. He was...he was..."

"Abby, you must calm down." Ducky soothed.

Gibbs continued, "He told me to tell you all that he's sorry. He couldn't stay knowing his presence was ruining our team dynamic."

"Surely you told him that wasn't true, Jethro."

"I tried, Duck. His mind is made up."

Abby whipped around to glare at McGee and Ziva. Then, without warning, she stood and ran out of the room, her gothic boots clomping on the carpeted floor of the hallway.

"Miss Scuito!"

"Agent Keller, let her go." Director Vance interjected.

Palmer, who had remained quiet the entire time with his fists clenched on the table, finally snapped. He rose out of his chair. It clattered into the bookshelf behind him. He came around the table and slugged McGee, who fell off his chair.

"That was for Tony!" He looked over at Ziva, whose mouth was open in shock. No one had ever seen Palmer exert so much anger. Even Gibbs looked pretty stunned. "You're lucky you're a woman or I'd deck you too...ow, man that really hurts." Palmer yelled, shaking his hand out, his knuckles throbbing.

Palmer turned to leave, passing Gibbs on the way. He looked at the older man and smiled when he saw the look of pride on Gibbs face. He wasn't in trouble like he thought he would be. He left the conference room mumbling something about icing his hand.

"Oh, dear. Jethro..." Ducky started.

"Go, Duck. Palmer probably broke his hand."

Ducky nodded, apologized and followed his assistant out of the room. Vance watched his two agents carefully. They were clearly expecting retribution for Palmer's actions. Thought Vance felt that the boy went a little overboard, he decided to keep his opinions to himself on this one. Gibbs was in a foul mood and stomping all over this would only make matters worse. If Gibbs didn't feel Palmer deserved some sort of punishment, then neither did he. Jimmy probably did break his hand, thus punishment served. He couldn't believe he just agreed with Gibbs decisions.

"You're not going to do anything, Boss?" McGee asked, wiping the blood off his cracked lip. His jaw was aching. He would have a huge bruise by morning.

"What would you like me to do, McGee? According to Agent Keller, we can't discipline him for anything. No repercussions, remember?"

"You punished us," Ziva added coldly.

"I gave you work, nothing more. Granted it was more than usual, but that is beside the point. Besides, my team is different. Jimmy isn't an agent."

"Horse reins and hand grenades, Gibbs."

Rubbing his jaw, "Horseshoes, Ziva."

"Yes, those too."

Silence filled the room. Agent Keller was upset. She had never failed like this before. She was supposed to fix the team. She never expected Agent DiNozzo to quit.

"This was not what I expected."

"None of us expected DiNozzo to quit, Agent Keller. Agent Afloat didn't keep him away. I'm sorry to lose such a fine agent."

"You've had a change of heart, Director Vance?"

"I'll admit, he was a good agent. I can't say the same for his personality."

"Now what, Boss?" McGee asked. He was going to feel sore in the morning.

"You two will have to share the responsibilities until I can find a replacement."

"Who gets to be Senior Field Agent?" Tim and Ziva asked in unison.

"Don't get excited just yet. Like I said, for now you'll have your regular duties plus Tony's SFA duties to perform. Neither of you can do both alone, so you'll have to share the responsibility."

Gibbs looked tired and drained. McGee had never seen his boss look quite so...so...alone and vulnerable.

"Get back to the squad room. I'll be down in a minute."

They left together. When they entered their area, they noticed something was different. Tony's desk was devoid of anything DiNozzo. The Mighty Mouse stapler was gone. The Magnum P.I. screen saver was no longer flashing across his screen. His lucky mug was no longer sitting on the corner of his desk. Even Gibb's awards that usually called DiNozzo's bottom desk drawer home were piled on Gibb's desk. Tony's desk was cleared of all the normal paperwork. Tim and Ziva had never seen his desk look so clean. Tony really was gone.

McGee felt a pang of guilt, but it was overwhelmed by relief. He never wanted Tony to actually quit. He could admit to himself, as Director Vance had, that Tony was a fine agent. He was annoying and over confident, but he was good at his job. Even though he could swear Tony somehow got around the rules to get his work done, he did have his moments. Tim also wanted his chance to advance and prove to Gibbs he was worth a chance. He knew that if given the right opportunity, he could do Tony's job better than he could. Gibbs was right, he was so worried about showing up DiNozzo, he didn't ask what his duties were. He would make sure to correct that immediately.

Ziva stared at Tony's empty seat. It should make her sad that her partner was gone, but she wasn't. She had suffered through Tony's obnoxious, inappropriate, unprofessional and unmilitary behavior for far too long. She needed serious structure. She needed rules and regulations. She needed a mature environnment. She needed to be sure that no one would screw around and possibly put everyone in danger when on a mission. As far as she was concerned, she was glad Tony had been the bigger man and quit of his own accord. It was all for the best in the end.

They noticed one other thing on Gibb's desk that caught their attention. Gibbs came around the corner and sat in his chair. Ziva and Tim were still hovering in front. Gibbs stared at the items on his desk. It hurt to see them. This wasn't where they belonged.

Tim and Ziva watched as Gibbs picked up Tony's badge, ID and sidearm and added them to his top desk drawer. He then slid all his awards into another drawer with one sweep of his arm.

It was obvious that Gibbs was going to have trouble letting Tony go. He pulled up his email, "Find something to do before I find it for you."

Ziva and McGee scrambled back to their corners. Tim started tapping away on his keyboard and Ziva shuffled through her filing cabinets. Gibbs knew they were both pretending to look busy.

"Either of you finish those requisition forms yet?"

Tim picked a paper up and held it in the air with a very lame smile on his face. Over confident already. Gibbs growled. Tim was getting full of himself just because he found a piece of paper. He cringed just thinking about the what would happen when Tim found a key piece of evidence in the field.

"It's blank, McGee."

"Uh, yes, Boss. I didn't know where to find it. I had to ask around. I only got it this morning before the therapy session. I'll get right on it, Boss."

"Which requisition form is it, McGee?"

Tim looked the document over.

"It's the MCRT vehicle unit requisition."

"Okay, that form will replenish supplies on the truck. You intend to do the others?"

"Others? What others, Boss?"

"Office supply requisition, firearms and ammo requisition and the forensic kit replenishment forms. You think your ammo, sig cleaning kits and forensic kits just refill automatically. There isn't an app for that, McGee."

"Boss, I'm impressed you knew..." The Gibbs glare stopped him, "Right, no, Boss. I'll find them."

Gibbs shook his head, "Check DiNozzo's...check his desk. He probably had copies on hand." Gibbs faltered.

"Yes, Boss."

"Gibbs. Will you be alright?" Ziva asked, concerned for her leader.

"No. Tony belongs here. He belongs with us, his family. He is an NCIS Senior Field Agent. This is wrong. This is all wrong."

Gibbs walked out to get coffee and make a phone call. He faced the front of the elevator, seeing both their faces before it closed. They didn't know what to think. That was good. They were about to learn a very hard lesson about loyalty. They thought this job was a piece of cake. Tony and him used to be the only two members of his team for two years. Tony did a lot of the work, much more than either of them thought he did.

The phone rang only once before it was picked up.

"DiNozzo...feel like getting lunch with me? I'll meet you at Sammy's. See you in twenty."

They hung up. Gibbs sipped the coffee he bought and grinned. Yeah, they were in for quite a surprise.

**Sammy's Deli:**

Gibbs entered the small deli and looked around for his Senior Field Agent. Yes, HIS SFA. He would forever be his Senior Field Agent, no matter what anybody said. Tony was sitting in a booth by the back window.

"Hey, Boss."

As Gibbs sat down, he noticed the dark circles around Tony's eyes. He wasn't getting much sleep. After the experiment was put into play, he insisted that Tony spend time with him. Tony was staying with him for now. He tried to keep Tony's attention and work him or train him or occupy him all night so that he was too tired to fight sleep. It seemed his plan wasn't working.

"You been pretending to sleep, DiNozzo?"

"What do you mean, Boss?" Tony asked, feigning ignorance.

"Don't do that. Why do you do that? You don't have to lie to me. You act as if everything is okay so I don't worry about you. Let me tell you something. I worry about you all the time. I worry about you at work when I can't be there every second to watch your back and I worry about you when you leave the office for the night, to go home to the crappy apartment you refuse to leave. I'm going to worry about you no matter what you do, so don't do that. I know everything's not okay. I was there too, DiNozzo. I know this hurts. You don't have to pretend that you're fine when you're clearly not."

"Boss, you really don't have to..."

"Tony...you're not fine. I want you to talk to me. Don't pretend like this is okay. This is far from okay. This is wrong. You and I both know it. You were my Senior Field Agent from the very beginning before either of them joined the team. You will always be my Senior Field Agent. Nothing changes how I feel about you on the job or off."

Tony was speechless. This was the most Gibbs had spoken in a while, not counting his forced talking in therapy. He so easily forgot the father-son feelings Gibbs had about them. His own father was a bastard. It was difficult now, even after all the years he spent with Gibbs, to get used to their growing father-son relationship.

"Thanks, Boss."

Gibbs watched his surrogate son carefully. It bothered him that Tony was dwelling on this so hard. He expected some pain and resentment. He expected a nights unrest. He didn't expect it to consume him. Dr. Mallard had been right about the affect this would have on Tony. Even with all the extra time Gibbs had been spending with him over the course of the week, he still got blind-sided.

Tony looked up at him, "You're right, Boss. This isn't right. I hate this."

"I know. I hate it too. They're about to figure out real fast that they made the biggest mistake of their lives."

"I don't understand. I didn't think that anything I did was that horrible. Why do they hate me so bad?"

"They don't hate you. They're jealous. They wish they were you. You heard Ziva. She wants our relationship, because her father's a bastard. She wants to be SFA, because she feels she's better equipped simply, because she was trained like an assassin. You make the job look like a joke to her, because it comes so easy to you. McGee...he feels the need to prove himself. The director did a great job of motivating him, but he didn't teach him a damn thing."

"So, why take it out on me?"

"I'm not sure. They can't do your job. You're my Senior Field Agent for a reason. They're about to find out why for themselves."

Tony grinned, "Is Probie walking around with his head held high and smug?"

"It's nauseating. He had the biggest grin on his face when he found the requisition form for the truck. Looked like he cracked a case."

Tony laughed. Gibbs was glad he found something to smile about. He didn't think he could stand the melancholy Tony anymore.

"Ziva isn't much better. It hasn't been twenty-four hours and she's walking around with a new chip on her shoulder. She will get even more defiant than usual I bet. She sneered several times at your desk when she thought I wasn't looking."  
"Wow, she really resents me. I must have really pissed her off. Of course, she could still be angry about Rivkin."

Tony started to play with his food. He still held guilt about Ziva's spy boyfriend, Micheal Rivkin. He had gone there to look out for her and defended himself against Rivkin. He protected his partner and saved the day, yet he still felt guilty. It was possible that Ziva still held a grudge against him for that...but it was unfounded. She had every opportunity to quit and she still came back. It couldn't be hurting her that much.

"Look, I gotta get back. I don't have any active cases unless we catch one before quitting time. I'll see you at home?" Gibbs asked.

For the first time in days, Tony smiled a genuine smile. "Yeah, Gibbs. I'll be at home. You want me to make dinner?"

"You cook? All this time we've been eating out and you can cook?"

"Haha, yeah. I can cook a lot of things. I just feel like cooking tonight. You feeling adventurous?"

"Why not? I'll bring the beer."

"Okay. See you later, Gibbs."

**Bullpen:**

Gibbs returned to NCIS and found McGee and Ziva at their desks, both engrossed in work. He moved to his desk to check his emails.

"Sit rep."

"Cold cases. There is nothing active at this time." Ziva responded promptly.

"Leave it. Go home." Gibbs ordered.

They looked at each other then back at Gibbs.

"Boss, it's not even two. We can get more done..."

"Go home, now. I don't want to see either of you back here until 0700 tomorrow morning."

"Look, Boss, we're sorry about Tony, but..." Tim started.

Gibbs looked up at McGee, his eyes blazing with anger. Tim recoiled. He knew Gibbs could see right through his attempt at sympathy. It was true that Tim hadn't wanted Tony to quit, but he wasn't going to cry over it either. With Tony gone, his true talent would emerge and show Gibbs how much better an agent he was.

"Right, Boss. Going home. See in you in the A.M."

Ziva was about to protest, but McGee shook his head and nodded toward the elevator. They would talk, she knew. They both grabbed their things and said their goodbyes. He watched them go and then started to clean up his desk. He had a few things to settle in MTAC before he headed home. He hoped Tony was already waiting for him. They had a lot of things to discuss.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It was a brand new day. They would still be on cold cases until dispatched called. Gibbs dismissed them early and were ordered to be back in the office by 0700. The pair left reluctantly, dreading Gibbs next form of punishment and humiliation. McGee thought about going to the Director to complain about Gibbs unfair treatment, but then decided it might look too juvenile. The last thing he wanted was to be compared to DiNozzo.

Gibbs, who was already busy at his desk, looked up when his "team" arrived. He checked his watch, then looked up at them once more. Ziva knew what he was silently saying.

"We are only tardy by five minutes, Gibbs. Give us a break." She sighed, setting her gear down behind her desk and turning on the power to her computer.

McGee also stowed his gear and booted up his computers.

"You had plenty of time relax and sleep yesterday. I sent you home early. I'm not interested in excuses, David."

"We are sorry Gibbs." She offered, sitting down at her desk.

"We?" He turned, "You let her speak for you now, McGee?"

"No, Boss, but we were having breakfast together this morning. That's why we were a few minutes late. So, **we** are sorry, Boss."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at that, "Something I should know?"

"What? Uh, no! No. No, Boss, never!"

"We are not a couple, Gibbs." Ziva assured him, knowing that he was concerned about rule twelve.

"Ah, celebration then," He concluded icily.

They remained quiet, neither denying the fact or feeling the need to explain themselves. Their silence was answer enough.

When Gibbs said nothing else, they figured that cold cases were on the menu until a new case was called in. After about an hour of skimming through files without anyone saying a word, McGee started to fidget. He would glance up at Gibbs periodically between paragraphs.

Gibbs felt eyes on him and, without looking up, spoke to the individual that was staring at him.

"Spit it out, McGee!"

"Sorry, Boss."

Gibbs made to recite his rule when McGee corrected himself, "Right. Not sorry, it's just that, um..."

Another glare shot at him, telling him to speed up or shut up.

"You said before that we never took the time to ask what our job description was. I would like to ask now, if it's not too late."

"Well, instead of this being an experiment and Tony is gone, I guess it is too late." Gibbs snapped.

McGee held his ground, but Gibbs could see the slight pang of guilt cross his junior agent's face. Good. McGee might not be a total loss.

"Be that as it may, Gibbs, as co-senior field agents, we will need to know if we are to be of use to you." Ziva stated, joining the conversation.

Gibbs sighed, "Alright. Let's get started."

Ziva and Tim grabbed their notebooks and the Senior Field Agent manuals, bringing their desk chairs around to sit in front of Gibbs desk. They sat ready to take notes. They both opened their manuals and waited.

"I'll read you in on DiNozzo's duties." He said, ignoring their manuals.

"You mean the Senior Field Agent's duties." McGee corrected him.

"That easy to forget and disregard Tony, is it?"

McGee was quiet a moment, "Just trying to be professional and move forward, Boss. Nothing is forever."

"Don't lie to me, McGee!"

There was an awkward silence and fidgeting by McGee. Gibbs shook his head. Maybe Tim was a lost cause after all. How could he have missed such blatant disrespect for Tony?

"Your normal duties are not to slip or fall short. I expect nothing short of one hundred percent. Nothing changes, because we are an agent down."

"We understand. Work should not suffer just, because we are short-handed." Ziva agreed.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Agent David. I asked Tony to write me a list of all the responsibilities he had." Gibbs pulled out a paper from his desk drawer.

There were confused looks, "Didn't you assign Tony his duties?"

"Some, McGee. The assignments I gave him were more or less what's already in that manual you're clinging to. The rest he learned during the course of his employment here working for me. Experience taught him the duties that he needed to do and where he needed to adjust to keep this team running smoothly. Some of his duties changed with the change of Directors."

"Great," Ziva sneered.

Gibbs ignored her comment. It rubbed him the wrong way, but now was not the time to address his personal feelings.

"So then, most of those things you are about to tell us aren't really Senior Field Agent responsibilities. They're not in the manual, so they're not actually mandatory. You know, Boss," McGee continued, making Gibbs growl at McGee's defiance, "we could probably thin that list out. We could get rid of or delegate the less important tasks to probie agents, making our jobs and yours a whole lot easier and way more efficient."

McGee's explanation was brilliant. Ziva looked at him, smiling, applauding him in her mind. Most of what was on that list Tony probably made up. It was no secret that Tony would do anything to receive Gibbs praise. Most of the stuff on that list was more than likely unnecessary.

"You want to stay on my team?" Gibbs eyes narrowed at them.

"Gibbs! You cannot fire us for not doing things that are not in our job description. Everyone knows that Tony was a suck-up. More than half of that list is probably pointless."

"You're right, David. I can't fire you, but I sure as hell can transfer you off my team."

"Boss!"

"Gibbs!"

"Look, I'm not arguing with you. I told you Tony was chosen for a reason. He remained my Senior Field Agent for that very same reason. He was the best. You want to prove you can do better, now is your chance. I need a new Senior Field Agent and I'm not keen on change. I expect a lot, I always have. I expect even more from my second in command. You don't want to be a part of that, then I'm sure Director Vance will have no problems reassigning you."

He watched as the pair considered his threat. He didn't have any desire to break up his team. He intended to fix their attitude and get Tony back. However, if he couldn't fix this, he might not have another choice.

Ziva looked offended. McGee gulped. He was with Gibbs long enough to know Gibbs was dead serious. Ziva was furious, but pushing Gibbs would not help matters. It would only make things worse.

Nodding, Ziva closed the manual, conceding to Gibbs way of thinking, even if she didn't agree.

"You said you had a list for us, Gibbs."

"Yeah. All Senior Field Agents, according to the book, are responsible for the following: All SFA's must maintain a ninety percent performance evaluation, a ninety percent on all firearm proficiency tests, and a ninety percent physical eval. My little rule within that last one is that you must have Ducky's okay as well."

They nodded, jotting down notes in their notebooks. Agent Keller came out of the Director's office. She and Vance had a conference call with SEC-NAV. He was not happy about how the experiment unfolded and was very displeased with the end results. He was demanding that they fix this atrocity immediately. The only problem was, Jessica had no idea how to even begin to fix this mess. She watched Gibbs and his remaining teammates from just outside MTAC.

Gibbs continued, "You both have already worked on cold case files. There is nothing new there. Tony was responsible for a bit more. All SFA's are responsible for reviewing and updating all cold case files from their own respective teams every three months. Tony was tasked with looking them over with fresh eyes. When he found something worth looking into, he would bring it to me. It would then become active once more. He would make sure to keep records of his actions no matter if he found something or not. Cold cases are not supposed to remain cold. It's our job to solve every case we catch. Some take longer than others. His work made sure that even though we can't always find a clue now, we will eventually."

Ziva made to argue.

"That isn't to say that you two don't do you're share to crack a cold case wide open. You do. However, you two are only responsible for going over cold cases when you don't have an active case to keep you busy."

McGee interrupted him, "Every three months, Boss? That's a lot for one person."

Ziva nodded, a knowing smile on her face, "That is a lot for just one person. I find it hard to believe that DiNozzo found time in his busy, joke and movie reference filled schedule to do all of that work."

"Yes, it is a lot of work for one individual, David." He ignored the snide comment she threw in there. He clenched his fist, the action keeping his anger in check, "DiNozzo took it all in stride. I learned after about two years of working with him, that he was coming in after his shifts to work on them late into the night and early mornings."

"Why must they be checked on so often? That's not in the manual." McGee said, perusing the through the book in his lap, effectively interrupting Ziva's next argument.

"I know that, McGee. That is one of my rules. I hate it when we can't solve a crime. It eats at me. It eats at all of us. I knew it eats at the victim's and their families. I want them checked often so that we can honestly tell the families that we are still working on their cases. Tony made sure to call someone involved in the case and give them an update. It can't have been easy."

"No...I can imagine it's hard to talk to the loved ones and tell them that we still have nothing. Some of those cases are years old, Boss." McGee admitted.

Ziva changed tactic. If she couldn't catch Gibbs with DiNozzo's lies, then she would attack the work ethic.

"Why have DiNozzo do it all alone? We could have helped. Why give him all the glory?"

Gibbs shook his head, "It saddens me that you see your job as a way to receive recognition."

"It is no different from Tony's reasons. He always craves recognition for every little thing he does. He practically grovels at your feet, begging for recognition." She spat at him, but added the cold case rule to her notebook.

"From me, yes. He does want recognition from me. He doesn't need recognition from anyone else. Besides, Tony was doing fine. You two had enough on your plate with just your duties. Before you two came along, even before Kate, this was a two man team. It was just me and DiNozzo for two years. Blackadder was with us for about three weeks, but she left because she couldn't take it. I'm a hard man to work for and she couldn't hack it. "

McGee chuckled. He believed that. When he first started, he thought Gibbs was gonna shoot him about once a day. He was always in fear of the rough Marine. Gibbs was really intimidating and he was a newbie. Tony had told him stories of Vicky Blackadder. He believed that story. Gibbs could be a menace.

Gibbs continued talking, "We divided up all the work between the two of us. I hate paperwork more than anything. I'm more of a hands on kind of guy. Tony learned that early on. Tony was willing to do the mundane if it meant getting what we needed without me losing my mind. Since then, it just stuck. We never found the need to change the routine. Why mess with it, the routine worked fine and neither of you were ever without something to do."

"Yeah, but then he always looks like the hero. You work that out with your favorite?" Ziva said, making it sound like a very legitimate question.

She was walking on thin ice and working on his already deteriorating patience. "It's the job, Ziva. Tony is a hero, but so are you and McGee. Then again, so is Abby, Ducky and Palmer. We do the job, we save lives, we solve murders. No one is better than another. We're a team. At least I thought we were. Moving on."

Gibbs picked up the list again. He read through what he told them already and found the next bullet point.

"All Senior Field Agents, like the team lead, are responsible for the safety and welfare of all victims, witnesses, suspects and fellow agents. Senior Field Agents are encouraged to increase their knowledge in criminology and are expected to attend all seminars available to them. A Senior Field Agent's education is never ending."

"Boss...really?" McGee said, trying to hold back his laughter.

Ziva sniggered behind her hand.

"Something funny?" Gibbs snapped.

"Sorry, Gibbs. I know...in fact, you cannot tell me that Tony has ever taken extra classes or been to seminars to further his knowledge." Ziva giggled again, not bothering to hide it now.

"Is that so, David?"

"You cannot."

"I suggest, when you both have a moment to yourselves, you should ask Director Vance to see Tony's file."

"What for?"

"You may learn something and that's all I'm going to say about it. Moving on."

They stared at him incredulously. It was not possible. Tony never took time off. He never did any kind of studying during his down time, when would he have found time? They shook their heads. Gibbs really was completely on DiNozzo's side.

"All Senior Field Agents are to be well versed in all areas of investigation, including the ability to clear a scene and effectively lead in my absence. You just learned that the other day, so I won't go into detail about that. You also just learned about SFA's consulting for other teams, so we'll skip that too. Each Senior Field Agent must be sure all requisition forms are filled out and handing in every month."

"Yeah, Boss. I figured that out yesterday. No need to go over that one either."

"You, as junior agents, are responsible for filling the truck, but Tony made sure that the supplies in the warehouse are always stocked so you can do your job," Gibbs continued, ignoring McGee's comment not to, "You two always leave your forensic kits here. He took that time to make sure they were replenished by ordering whatever needed to be refilled. Ammo was always stocked in our locked cage in the armory. DiNozzo made sure we were never without firepower. Every one of those requisition forms were filled without my knowledge. They were always found on my desk once a month. I signed them and he submitted them.

They jotted everything down after staring at each other disbelieving. He grinned, but covered it quickly.

"Either of you ever run out of equipment? Ever go to refill the truck with supplies and not find what you need in the warehouse?"

"Can't say that I have, Boss."

"Even if that is all true, Tony did not do all that. There are people in this building whose job it is to replenish supplies." Ziva smiled coldly.

"We are the Major Case Response Unit. We go through more than the usual team. I want us to always be on top of things. I don't like waiting around for personnel to get around to it. If you wait on them, it could be a week or more before we see results. Tony made sure that he kept on top of it and sent out requisitions a week before due date. That way we are never without."

McGee was impressed. It was responsible to be ahead of the game. They would never be in that awkward moment where they run out bullets or didn't have enough swabs at a crime scene. It just didn't make sense that Tony was the one to make sure they would never be in that embarrassing scenario.

Ziva clenched her teeth. DiNozzo strikes back. Even when he wasn't around, he irritated her. DiNozzo? Responsible? There was just no way. He had to have gotten someone else to do everything for him. He liked to delegate. He was a goof off, a regular class clown. He was lazy. It just wasn't DiNozzo.

"Now, last, but not least, all SFA's must take CPR classes. That is the last of the duties that are in the manual."

"So, that's it?"

"No, McGee. That is everything that the job description entails, albeit with some fine tuning from me. Tony, as usual, took on far more than was required. Thanks to his initiative, this team runs fairly smoothly. Are you ready for DiNozzo's list?"

"You act as though he is the team, Gibbs. We are part of this team too. DiNozzo does not do it all."

"You're right, Ziva. He doesn't. I appreciate all the things that both you and McGee do as well. The issue we are facing right now is not about you. The issue is not whether or not you two are appreciated or respected. Tony respects you both. He thinks very highly of you. He is in awe on a daily basis by your technical and computer prowess. He knows that we would not have closed nearly as many cases if not for your computer skills and your MIT background."

McGee slouched and hung his head. He was used to Tony picking on him for all of that. He was always called some silly name and harassed because he couldn't talk normal when it came to his computer explanations during a case. He never even thought that, maybe, Tony might pick on him because he was jealous. It would make sense though. Maybe, not jealous...maybe envious.

"And you, he always talks about his super, sexy, Mossad ninja. He knows that he's good in hand to hand combat, but he knows you're better. He knows what you went through. He knows that you have training in combat that he can't even come close to. He never thought that he was better than you when it came to stealth or fighting."

Ziva was going to argue, but thought better of it. She could admit that, though he was good, he only ever fought her because of her impatience. He never told her that her skills were flawed, just her inability to stay put until they were given a signal to move forward.

"So, are you ready for DiNozzo's list now?"

They nodded, both momentarily humbled.

"Alright...now Tony has been taking care of the payroll and paid time off forms."

"That's your job, Boss." McGee stammered.

"It is, but as I said before. I got better things to do than fill out paperwork. I have cases to solve. During his down time, Tony made sure to fill out your forms for me to sign before he submitted them to the Director. Vance is very strict about receiving them in a timely fashion. He won't tolerate late submissions. I remember one night, during his first year with me, we caught a case that just rubbed me the wrong way and I couldn't concentrate. Director Marrow was calling me every couple of hours to remind me to finish the payroll form. I was already irritated. I threw all my files and paperwork on the floor and walked out. When I came back, my desk was in order, all the files and my inbox empty. The payroll was filled out, requisitions were done and reports filled out and awaiting my signature. After that, it was done every time. The forms would appear on my desk, I would sign them and then they would disappear an hour later. Directors never complained about late paperwork again and I could focus on cases."

"I understand Gibbs."

"Good, I'm glad McGee. He was also in charge of performance evals."

"What?!" They yelled in unison.

Several other agents stopped to look at them. Some even stood from their desks to see what was going on. Gibbs glared at them and they moved on.

"You heard me. Tony did your performance evals."

"But...but Boss, that's your job!"

"I helped, but again...I hate paperwork. I have better things to do. I prefer to evaluate someone by working with them. I like to form my own teams. I don't give a rats ass what the current Director or the one after him thinks about my people, my team. I only work with people of my choosing and who I trust. I trusted Tony and I appreciate his insight. I have not given any Director an performance eval since Kate started."

"Wait, Boss. Did Tony evaluate me before I joined the team?"

With a nod, " Ziva and Kate too. McGee, if it had been up to me, you wouldn't even be here."

"But you just said it was up to you. You pick your team."

"Yes, but I draw heavily from Tony's opinions. We worked with you on that submariner case. I was ready to pull my hair out by the end of it. I was glad when it was over. I wouldn't have to work with such a green rookie anymore. You were a scared little rabbit and I didn't have the patience or any use for you at the time. DiNozzo worked more closely with you than I did. He saw something in you that I refused to even look for. He laid out his case, gave me the highlights and told me that you would be a good addition to the team. You had skills that the team required and we didn't already possess. I agreed, told him that you were his responsibility. If I didn't see improvement, you would be gone. It's as simple as that."

McGee was stunned. Had it not been for DiNozzo, the man that just quit, because of his selfish actions, he wouldn't even be here. He would probably still be stuck in that tiny office in Norfolk. How could he be so mean and heartless? He raised a hand to touch his sore nose. Jimmy was right to slug him. He knew now that he deserved it.

"I cannot belive you let **him **decide our fates?!" Ziva asked, lowering her voice. She did not want others staring again.

Gibbs just stared at her, waiting. He knew there was more.

"You have final say though, right?"

"I make the final decisions, yes. Like I said, I pull a lot from Tony's observations and if you really want to know the truth, we make the final decisions together. I value his input. You, McGee, not even Kate, would have been considered at all if not for Tony. I was content with a two man team. It was a team I trusted."

"Lies! I was forced on you and it was my request. Director Sheppard accepted my request to be on your team and made you accept me."  
Ziva looked as though she had won the lottery.

"True, but I fought her tooth and nail until Tony made some very convincing observations, after which I accepted you onto the team."

"I was not aware you had a choice in the matter."

He raised an eyebrow, "Do I look like a man without choices?"

She eyed him, searching for deception. Finding none, she shook her head.

"Well, as far as the list goes, it's done. There isn't any more for me to tell you. However, I will add that DiNozzo still did a lot more that we sometimes take for granted. Even me."

"And they are?"

"I'll leave that to you to figure out."

There was silence. He hoped that this was all sinking in. He'd be damned if he would repeat himself. He watched as they processed everything he had told them. Tony did a lot for this team, some of it stuff that even Gibbs didn't require of him. If one of them was engrossed on a lead they were chasing down and forgot to do what Gibbs asked of them, he would back them up and complete the task. If he didn't do the task given to them, he redirected Gibbs anger for them to himself. He made sure that they knew when Gibbs was in a foul mood. He was adept at seeing something they didn't want others to see. He was able to get both of them to talk out what was bothering them so it didn't spill over into their investigation. He saw Tony do it a hundred times. He made time to see Abby and Ducky, even Palmer, when Gibbs couldn't find the time. Tony did so much to make sure their ship ran smoothly. To have the two of them tarnish his good name and good work made Gibbs sick.

They had a lot to learn and he hoped they would eventually see the error of their ways. DiNozzo was needed. He belonged on Gibbs team. If his plan didn't work, he would have serious decisions to make. He couldn't have this team behaving like this, there were too many lives at stake, including their own. He didn't want to have to make that call, but if this didn't work, he would have no choice.

"Well, thank you, Boss. I think that between the two of us, we can handle this."

He needed a break. His phone rang.

"I hope so...Gibbs," He said, then barked as he answered his desk phone.

Ziva, anticipating a call out, stood, followed by McGee. They armed themselves and grabbed their gear. He motioned for them to sit.

"I'll be right down Abs."

They deflated. They had both been hoping there was a case to prove themselves with.

"Call me if we catch a case."

He hurried out of the bullpen, making a detour on his way to her lab to get her Caf-Pow. Dr. Mallard met him in the elevator on his way down.

"How's Palmer doing, Duck?" Gibbs asked, failing to suppress a smile.

Ducky grinned, "He'll be rather sore for a few days, but otherwise he'll be fine. I must say, he's been walking a little taller since that incident."

"He earned it."

"Yes," Ducky sobered, more serious now, "Jethro, have you spoken to Anthony?"

"Yesterday," he said shortly.

"How is he doing?"

"He'll be fine."

"Jethro, that boy lives for this job. I will not believe that this isn't hurting him."

"It was his decision, Duck."

They exited and walked toward forensics.

"It was forced on him, Jethro. He saw no other way to make matters better. He depends on all of us for reassurance and stability, for friends and family. He craves our connections to him. I refuse to believe that Anthony is able to move on from this as though he hasn't lost anything."

"Neither do I!"

They both turned to see a very dangerous looking Abby. Tony's picture was plastered on ever visible computer screen, much like his had been during his sabbatical. Turned out, all of DiNozzo's personal effects were in her lab as well.

Abby, her gloved arms folded over her chest, was prepared to do battle.

"Abby..."

"No, Gibbs! I can't take it anymore. You get him back." She ordered him.

"Abs, this decision wasn't mine."

"Then it's time that it was. Get all Gibbsian on him. Give you best Gibbs glare and the mother of all head slaps."

Gibbs eyes softened. Abby and Tony were close. He wanted to make ammends, but nothing would change just yet. He needed to be sure.

Abby saw the sympathy and sighed.

"Can't we at least try?  
"I have tried, Abby."

"Man, those two really make me mad. You should have fired them!"

Astonished, "Abigail."

"Well...they are the reason he's gone. You know he cares more about others than he does himself. If they really think that Tony is useless, then they don't belong on this team."

"Do you really want McGee and Ziva to leave too?" Ducky asked.

She started to answer, but then shut her mouth. She was losing steam. Her brow furrowed.

"No, I don't. I love them both. I just want everything back to normal."

"I know Abs."

He gave her a hug, then she turned to Ducky and smirked, "How's Jimmy?"

"Feeling rather manly, I must say."

"He should. God, I wish I had seen it. Watching the playback on the security camera just isn't the same."

They should be more shocked and appalled, but that was Abby. Ducky and Gibbs laughed. She was something else.

When he returned to the bullpen, he set them to work on cold cases once more. They found something in one of them that didn't add up. They worked the case, solving it throughout the course of their day. At seven, they looked to him, both of them having completed their reports.

"Pack up. Go home. There isn't anything else that can't wait til tomorrow. I'm sure there will be another session at some point tomorrow. Make sure and check your email."

"You alright, Boss?"

"Just tired, McGee."

"Right. See you tomorrow then, and thank you, for telling us all of our duties. We won't let you down."

"Yeah."

"And, Boss?"

"What is it, McGee?"

"I really am sorry about Tony. I never wanted him to quit."

With that, McGee grabbed his backpack and headed for the elevator. Gibbs wanted to sigh in relief. Maybe McGee was learning. Maybe he really wasn't a total loss. He could be rehabilitated. He might just come around after some prodding in the right direction. Ziva on the other hand seemed to remain defiant.

"Goodnight, Gibbs."

She turned off her computer and grabbed her purse and bag. Before leaving the squard room, she turned to look at him.

"I understand that you miss him, Gibbs. I understand that you fear change, but scaring us into wanting him back is not going to happen. I do not believe that Tony did everything you are saying he did. You want us to believe that he was invaluable to this team, that no one can fill his shoes and I do not share your sentiment. I **know** that anyone can do the job if trained properly. I will not let you down. McGee will not let you down. I will make you see just how wrong about him you truly are. Everyone is replaceable, Gibbs. Even DiNozzo."

She turned and walked away, joining McGee at the elevator. Gibbs watched them enter and disappear. She was right, everyone was replaceable. That included her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Gibbs spent the car ride home thinking about the next step in his plan. Ziva and McGee needed to be shown how the team dynamic differed without DiNozzo there. If there was any hope of saving his team, it was imperative that they all get back on the same page. He thought about including Abby and Ducky in his plans, but he wasn't sure either of them could keep their mouth shut. Right now they were livid with the pair of them. He could see it in Abby's eyes during their last session before she stomped out. She was ready to punish them. She couldn't think clearly right now. Ducky would help him without ruining his plan, but Ducky was, at his core, a teacher. He wouldn't knowingly let anything slip to his junior agents, but in trying to teach them what they needed to learn, he would drop hints. Gibbs couldn't have that.

He pulled up in his drive way and gathered his gear and the six pack he promised. He entered the house, taking in the glorious scent of food wafting from his kitchen. He set his gear on the floor near the door and hung up his blazer. The smell coming from his kitchen pulled him from his thoughts and he followed the scent.

He found Tony hovered over the stove, stirring something. He looked so domesticated. He looked like he fit in Gibbs kitchen, like he had been doing this all his life. Gibbs liked the look of it. He never got to watch his own daughter grow up, and though he didn't get to watch Tony grow from child to adult, he felt he watched the hot shot grow into a serious investigator. This was home, as it should be.

"So, what are you cooking?" Gibbs asked, pulling two beers from the six pack he carried in with him before stuffing it in the fridge.

"Hey Gibbs. Lasagna is in the oven. I making some things for later though. I thought since you have the habit of making cowboy style steaks in the fireplace, that I would make some sides to go with it. I'll just refrigerate them and then when we have a steak night, we can just warm them up."

"Always anticipating, but you didn't have to do that. I'm pretty content with just steak."

"Yeah, I had a feeling you would say that. I love steak just as much as you, but sometimes I like mashed potatoes or greens with it."

"Sounds good."

Gibbs leaned against the counter and watched his surrogate son cook.

"How was the rest of your shift?" Tony asked, trying not to sound too interested.

"They wanted to know what exactly you did that wasn't in the book."

Gibbs took a swig from his bottle. Tony turned to look at him.

"You didn't really rattle off that list I gave you."

"Why not? It's the truth. You know more about that job than anyone. I don't even really remember what's in the actual manual. There is a lot that goes into being a Senior Field Agent, but you do a hell of a lot more than is in your job description. A hell of a lot more."

Tony turned the burners off and moved the pans to the back of the stove top. He took the beer offered him and took a drink. He thought for a moment. He sat down at the table and started to peel at the label.

"Tony?"

"Sorry, Boss."

"What's wrong?"  
"I just...I don't know. I just don't think you should be so hard on them."

"This again. We talked about this before. After what they pulled, they deserve a little tough love."

"Gibbs. There has to be something else going on. I mean, for years we all worked together seamlessly before now."

"So?"

"So what changed? Over the last year, shit has kinda hit the fan. I kill Ziva's boyfriend in self defense though she clearly doesn't see it that way. Ziva is almost killed by some lunatic overseas. Her father flips out and sends one of his own to make Ziva useless to you so he can have her back. Probie almost gets killed by some crazy spy chick. It was a rough a year. Somewhere in the middle is the answer."

"What would you have me do? I'm not gonna let you pretend to quit forever. I need you on my team."

"You need them too, Boss. This isn't a one man show. We're a team. You can't tell me that after everything you learned that you wanna just break us up."

Gibbs thought about it. He would love to see the look on the faces after telling them to leave, but Tony was right. He needed them too. His team was his family, for better or worse. They might not be as close to him as Tony, but they were all he had aside from his father and Tobias.

"No, I don't want to split us up. That is the last thing I wanna do. However, if we can't fix this, some changes are going to have to be made." Before Tony could suggest, Gibbs held up a finger to stop him, "And before you even make the mistake of suggesting that I make your quitting real, you can forget it. Even if I didn't think of you as my family, as my son, you would still be my first choice to be on my team."

Tony sighed, "Gibbs. You really need to stop and think. I'm not as perfect as you're making me sound. My childhood is proof of that. My work history is proof of that. I never stayed in one spot long, that's why you found so many police stations in my jacket. NCIS is the first place that has been permanent."

"I never said you were perfect. I said you were my first choice."

Tony shook his head. He just didn't understand what this man saw in him. His own father called him a failure and told him he would amount to nothing, but a dead body in a gutter one day. He succeeded in pulling off the beer label without tearing it.

"You don't even know how valuable you are, do you?"

"I know I'm useful to you, Gibbs. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

"That's right. You are useful to me, but that's not the only reason. I was a very different man before I met you."

"Ducky told me. Said you were a lot like me."

"I don't know that I would have put it quite like that, but yeah. I was a little like you. I was a hot shot. I had a spring in my step and a smile on my face. After my family died, that part of me disappeared."

"I know, Boss. You don't have to do this. You don't have to talk about it."

"I know. I turned in to the epitome of second B for bastard. No one was good enough to stay on my team."

Tony gave him an incredulous look.

"Burley?"

He nodded, heat rising under his collar. Tony, though he respected Stan Burley, didn't particularly like him. He could admit it. He was jealous of Gibbs relationship with him.

"Burley was different. Morrow told me that if I didn't start building a real team he would demote me to a Senior Field Agent on another agents team. Stan was the best I could find at the time."

Tony snorted as though he didn't really believe that.

"Tony."

DiNozzo continued playing with his bottle.

"Tony, look at me," Tony looked up at him, "If I had to choose now, between the two of you, it would be you. That decision has nothing to do with our relationship. You are far more intuitive that he is. You have a knack for putting clues together. You think outside the box. He was a paper pusher before NCIS. You were a cop. A good cop. You would have made detective if I hadn't stolen you away from Baltimore."

Tony blushed at Gibbs praise. "Thanks, Boss."

"No need to thank me, DiNozzo. You earned your place on my team and that's no easy feat."

Tony looked uncomfortable. Gibbs downed the last of his beer and tossed it in the trash.

"How about we eat. That smell is making my mouth water. I'm starving."

Tony jumped up. He put on the oven mitts and pulled his master piece out of the oven. The mozzarella bubbled beautifully on the top. They waited two minutes before cutting into it, then Tony served it.

"This is really good, DiNozzo. Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"Would you believe my nanny."

"You're serious?"

"Yeah. I was always left alone and I craved human contact. I spent a lot of time with my father's servants and my nanny. I asked for her help baking a cake for my dad's birthday one year. Since then, I would watch her when she was cooking. I learned a lot. She was an awesome cook. Every few months I dabble in something new. I like trying new recipes."

"What happened?"

Tony looked at his surrogate father with a confused look.

"With the cake for your dad."

"Oh, that. Well, he came home in a rather rotten mood. I had left the cake in his office to surprise him. I carried it in myself. Apparently I got icing all over his desk in the process. He got angry, yelled and screamed a lot at my nanny for allowing me into his office let alone allowing me to carry it in there unsupervised, and threw it out the window. Needless to say, I never baked another cake for him."

Tony continued eating, using his finger to get every last bit of sauce and cheese on his plate. Gibbs took the last few bites, hiding his hatred for Tony's father. That man didn't deserve the wonderful son he had. He admired Tony for surviving under his father's thumb.

They cleaned up dinner and Tony put the sides in the fridge for later in the week. They went to the basement to work on the boat together. Gibbs enjoyed having his son with him. He didn't need to seclude himself alone anymore. Tony was the perfect person to fill the void in his heart and his home. They enjoyed the time they spent together, even in complete silence.

"So what's your next move, Boss?" Tony asked after an hour or so of silent sanding.

"I'm not entirely sure how to proceed. I need to show them what they are missing. Explaining it to them is not working. They need your absence to hit them in the face."

"You really think they're gonna miss me that much? Gibbs, your pushing it. I am not superman. I know that I'm good at my job and I know that you think I'm the only one that can, but you are seriously underestimating them."

"You think so?"

"Gibbs. They are both very talented investigators. McGee showed his leadership skills when he was put in charge of the tech lab. Ziva was in charge of many teams when she was a part of Mossad. They do not lack leadership skills. Both of them are very good at electronic data gathering. They are good with witnesses and suspects alike. They have shown time and time again that they are more than valuable at a crime scene. Though Probie was slow to start, he has turned into a very solid interrogator. Ziva is just plain scary. They are both organized. They are both loyal."

"LOYAL!?"

Tony corrected himself. "To you, Boss. They are both loyal to you. I'm just another part of YOUR team. Without you, we're just three average people. You gave us a chance. You give us a purpose. You make our family. They don't need me. They NEED you."

Gibbs had been watching his Senior Field Agent for the last few minutes. His last comment made his eyes widen. That was the thing he needed to reel them back in. It was perfect, but it meant keeping Tony out of the loop too. He would have to ask Tobias for help.

"You just had a eureka moment didn't you?"

"Maybe. I'll have to think on it. You should get up to bed. You look exhausted."

"Only if you do too, Boss."

Tony wouldn't go to bed if he didn't. It was no secret that Gibbs would spend all night and morning down in the basement. Tony had found him asleep under the boat many times over the past week.

"Alright, let's go."

The pair climbed the stairs and changed for bed. Tony took the master bedroom upstairs, where he always slept when he spent the night. Gibbs took the couch. He lay on his back thinking about the next part of his plan. It was brilliant. Leave it to Tony to help him even when he didn't know that he was. He needed to go into the office and gather a few things he would need.

He put on his jacket and left the house, locking the door behind him. He knew exactly what he had to do, and he had no doubt that they would be begging for DiNozzo to come back.

**Next morning:**

"Good morning, McGee."

Ziva strode into the bullpen looking bright and cheery. She let her hair down, which she hadn't done in a while. She thought, since Tony would no longer be there to stare at her, it was safe to do so again.

"Morning, Ziva."

"Where's Gibb?"

"I'm sure he's lurking around here somewhere. Isn't he always?"

"Hmmm...you have a point. He is probably down with Abby." She said, starting her computer and checking her email.

It was quiet. She looked up to look at her partner, who had now moved from his desk to his new spot directly across from her. It was a nice change, but something seemed off. She didn't miss Tony. No, that couldn't be it. Maybe it was just strange to see him sitting there after being across from Tony for so long. McGee looked distracted.

"McGee? Something wrong?"

"No."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, maybe?"

She switched eyebrows. McGee squirmed.

"Ok, yeah."

"What is it, McGee?"

"Tony."

She sighed. "What about him?"  
"Do you really think he did all that stuff? I mean, I know that while he was acting team lead, he did all our stuff too cuz we completely boycotted him, but do you really think he did all that stuff. Do you really think he did our performance evals instead of Gibbs?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. I do not think that Gibbs would hand over the fate of his team to Tony. Gibbs likes to choose his own team. Why would he leave it up to one of those team members to evaluate the others. Who would you say did Tony's if that were true. We have never had the privilege of evaluating Tony."

"No, we haven't. That would be kinda weird."

"Exactly. Plus, isn't it also Gibbs job to evaluate the other members of his team?"

"You mean like Abby?"

"And Dr. Mallard and Jimmy."

"I would think that falls under the director's pervue."

"We could always ask." Ziva suggested.

"We have a couple minutes before our session. We might find Gibbs down there though."

"Then we'll just ask her later if he is."

They rode the elevator down to Abby's lab together. They entered, confused by the lack of music.

"Morning Abby."

"Hi." Abby said, walking around them to her office.

"Still mad I take it." Ziva said quietly.

"That would be a definite yes." McGee said behind his hand.

They walked into her office and sat in the chairs opposite her. She looked at them, her eyes wet from tears and her makeup was a complete mess.

"Abby, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?! Tim, how can you say that? Tony is gone. That's what's wrong."

"Abby, he'll still be a big part of your life I'm sure. He would never leave NCIS and cut all ties with you, Abby." Tim assure her.

"No. That's just it. I can't get him to talk to me. He said that this is the way it has to be and that being around any of us would just be too hard. He can't move on like that. We didn't just lose a teammate. We lost a friend. We lost a family member."

"Abby, I can guarantee that he will be back. This is all a ploy by Gibbs to teach us a lesson."

Abby coughed and laughed at the same time, "I can see it's not working."

"So you know about his plan?" Tim asked.

"What? No. If there was a plan like that, Gibbs would tell me. He knows he can trust me. I would know. There isn't a stupid plan, Ziva. This is real. Tony isn't coming back. You two, with all your jealousy and inferiority issues, scared him off."

They were silent as they watched her choke on her own sobs. Dr. Mallard poked his head in the room, "Are you three coming. The session is about to start."

**Therapy session:**

They filed in one by one. Vance was on Agent Keller's left, an empty seat for Gibbs beside him. Palmer was already there, his hand in a bandage. He hadn't broken his hand, but it was quite swollen and one of the bones in his pinky was probably fractured. Abby, McGee, Ziva and Ducky came in and took their seats.

"Where's Gibbs?" Vance asked.

"We thought he was down in the lab with Abby. Maybe he's in the head." Ziva said.

McGee frowned. He might not know every faucet of his Boss's personality, but he did know the man was never late. He called down to the bullpen. No answer.

"Let's give him a few minutes. I'm sure he'll be along in a minute." Keller suggested as she opened her file and laptop.

"He doesn't need a few minutes. Gibbs is never late."

"He didn't quit too, did he?" Keller asked.

"Nothing in this world could make Gibbs quit." Vance assured her.

"Then I'm sure he'll be along."

"No, Agent Keller. You don't understand. He is never late. Never."

Vance thought about his Senior Agent. McGee was right. Gibbs was never late. He was sure it was one of his damn rules.

"Call him, Agent McGee."

Tim pulled up Gibbs cell number. It rang, four times before going to voice mail. He tried again.

"Nothing?"

McGee shook his head.

"Keep trying McGee. David, notice anything when you came into work today?"

"No. Again, I believe that this is all a ploy to punish us and get us to rescind our annoyance with Tony."

"You really think he would go so far to prove a point?" Keller asked.

There was silence around the room. Abby spoke up.

"He would tell me and probably Ducky if he were up to something. I haven't heard from Gibbs since yesterday afternoon. It is a little hinky that he's not here yet."

"Call his home."

Abby dialed Gibbs house number. No answer there either.

"McGee, track his phone."

"Yes, Sir."

"You are all blowing this out of proportion. Gibbs is fine. This is payback. He is angry with McGee and me. He is blaming us for Tony quitting."

Vance thought about outing Gibbs about Tony's fake resignation, but decided it could wait until later. Right now, adding fuel to the fire would only make matters worse.

"Got it. He's on the southeast side, near the harbor."

While McGee had been tracking his phone, they all made their way back to the bullpen. Gibbs desk was covered in files and evidence from a cold case. There was a picture of a dock down at the harbor. Vance picked it up.

"He must have come back last night to work on a cold case. This is a picture of the same area. You two, go. He might have gone there to check on a lead. Knowing you're fearless leader, he went alone and won't call for backup. Call me the second you find him."

They were already out the door as he was yelling the last of his orders.

McGee let Ziva drive. She was on a mission. She was so damn certain that this was all a prank. They got to the docks in record time. They searched the harbor and found Gibbs charger. They found his phone inside, but that wasn't all they found. McGee's heart dropped into his stomach. Ziva, though suspicious, drew her weapon and started clearing the surrounding buildings.

Vance answered on the first ring. "What do'ya got McGee?"

"We have a problem, Director."

"What?"

"We found Gibbs car. His cell phone is inside."

"And Gibbs?"

"Not here, Sir, and there is blood in the car."

"You lock down that scene tight. I want every available unit there now. I'll send help."

Vance hung up the phone and looked at the stunned faces around him.

"No one goes home tonight. Gibbs is missing."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Several hours passed. Abby, who was now hysterical, was hardly containing herself as she went over the evidence collected from the scene. She processed hairs, which turned out to be Gibb's and Tony's, neither of which was of use to them. She knew that Tony had been spending a lot of time with the Bossman because of the experiment. The blood found in the car was definitely Gibb's, which scared her. First Tony quits and now her silver fox was missing and probably hurt. This was just all spiraling too far out of control for her. This needed to end; she couldn't take the stress anymore.

Dr. Mallard and Jimmy didn't have much to do. There was no body, which was good, but that limited their resources for helping with the investigation. A body would help with evidence to solve the puzzle, but a body was the last thing they wanted right now. Dr. Mallard spent his time in Abby's lab, assisting her with the forensics and keeping her calm. Jimmy was instructed to help look into Gibbs call log, while McGee checked his financials. It wasn't much, but it was the least Jimmy could do to help find their leader.

Agent Keller was too stunned to do much of anything. How had everything gone so wrong? She knew that whatever case Agent Gibbs was working on had nothing to do with their sessions or the events that followed, but how could everything just crash and burn so fast. She called up her superior at the FBI and informed him of their current status on finding the missing Agent. She asked for Agent Tobias to be read into the case, as she knew they were both he and Agent Gibbs were friends.

McGee and Ziva were busy working the scene. When they returned to NCIS, they did what they had always been taught. Look through financials, call logs, and they looked into the cold case that was left lying on Gibbs desk. They found his side arm and badge in his desk drawer, they wanted to know if he was at least armed when he went to this meeting. They had his car towed into the evidence garage, watching as it was loaded onto the truck.

Director Vance watched from his perch above the bullpen in front of MTAC as Ziva threw her arms up angrily, shouting about hitting a dead wall.

"Dead end, Ziva." McGee corrected her.

"Do not start with me! You do not need to pick up Tony's bad habits!"

She shook her computer furiously and slammed her fingers on the keys. The small show of violence made her feel better. There was no outlet for her in this situation. Normally, she would have harassed Tony. She no longer had that option, not that she wanted it, she thought.

McGee looked at his watch and then ran his hands through his hair. They didn't even know where to look. They had nothing. The case that Gibbs was working on was four years cold now. He recognized the pictures of the dock that they found Gibbs car at, but he didn't recognize the case. They had no clues to lead them to the location of their boss. Gibbs could be hurt, or worse, he could be dead. He shook his head; he had to stop thinking like that. Tony would have head slapped him for that.

"Tony..." McGee breathed.

"What?"

"Has anyone told Tony yet?" McGee swallowed the lump in his throat.

Tony and Gibbs were close. He knew that Tony would want to be informed and kept in the loop. How could they have forgotten?

"I do not know. I am sure that someone will contact him. I have no doubt that Abby will make it her business to inform him of what has transpired."

Jimmy listened to their conversation as he went through the call logs on for Gibb's cell records. How could they forget to tell Tony? If they didn't, he sure as hell would. He listened as they continued to debate the subject when something caught his eye.

"Guys. I think I found something."

McGee rolled over to Palmer and looked at his screen, "What?"

Jimmy pointed to the only number on Gibbs cell that didn't have an address or name attached.

"Good work, Palmer."

Jimmy smiled and slid aside for McGee. Tim did a trace on the phone and found that it was a burn phone...not traceable.

"It's a burn phone. I can't trace it. Whatever Gibbs was doing, whoever he was meeting, the other party didn't want to be found."

Director Vance approached them, his features stern, but surprisingly calm.

"Where are we?"

"Nowhere, Director." Ziva admitted. "We have found nothing that links to Gibbs accept the pictures in that file. We have been over everything."

"Dig deeper. That file means something. He was working on it, then he left to check out a lead. Our answer is in that box." He ordered.

They nodded. They were at a loss. They had no idea what their next move should be. Both were now extremely worried about Gibbs. Ziva was beyond thinking this was a game. Gibbs was missing for over six hours. Her senses and emotions were on overload and it was hard for her to focus. She wanted to do nothing, but cry. It was hard for her to compartmentalize. She may have looked in control, but inside she was falling apart.

McGee was a nervous wreck. Gibbs had always taught them to never let a case get personal. What he forgot to teach was what you do when it can be nothing, but personal. What were they supposed to do when it was about one of their own? He remembered what happened when Kate died. Everyone was quiet and having a hard time, but Gibbs had been around to be the one in control. He told them what needed to be done. This was different. Gibbs was the one missing. He didn't know how to keep a straight head when all he could think about was what was possibly happening to Gibbs. They needed to find him. That was all that mattered. He turned his attention back to the file in front of him. They would find him...wouldn't they?

Another five hours later revealed no new leads into Gibbs' disappearance. Ziva had collapsed from exhaustion at her desk an hour or so ago. McGee was fighting to keep his eyes open. He couldn't take it anymore. He heard movement behind him and to the right. Ducky and Jimmy were rounding the corner, Abby not far behind. They didn't look happy. Director Vance was approaching from the opposite side.

"Ziva!"

She didn't move. She was out cold, her head lying on top of her keyboard.

McGee through a pencil at her, poking her in the head. Her head shot up. She glared at him, but adjusted her response when she saw the Director.

Angrily, Abby stomped up into McGee's personal space, "How can you be sleeping? Gibbs is missing. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does. We're just tired, Abs. You have to understand, we've been at this for eleven hours. We're exhausted."

"Would Gibbs have slept if it were one of you missing? Would Tony?"

Ziva sighed, "Oh, please not again. One more mention of Tony and how he is perfect at everything will run me up a wall."

"That was said wrong, but I'm not going to bother to correct you. I have lost interest in helping you with your mannerisms. Do you have anything new? Is there anything that we can help with?" Abby demanded.

"No, I'm sorry, Abs. Not right now." McGee said softly.

"Do not worry, Abby. We will find him."

"You're right, you will. You're going to have help."

They stared at her, wondering what she was talking about. Director Vance had a feeling this would be coming soon. Agent Keller had spent some time with Abby and she brought up the possibility, which Vance agreed with if **he** did. He certainly wouldn't stop **him**.

"You're going to have help, right?" Abby demanded again.

"Help from whom?" Ziva asked.

"From Anthony of course," Ducky said, as though it were the most obvious of answers.

"I do not think that is a good idea." Ziva insisted.

McGee thought a moment. Tony might know where Gibbs was last. Tony might know where he was.

"We're out of options. Tony might know where the Boss is."

"So we call him in here as a witness, yes? That is all."

"Alright, give him a call, Ziva."

"Me? Why me? You are closer to him. You call him."

"I can't call him. I wouldn't know what to say. DiNozzo will kill me. We lost Gibbs."

"Well I am not calling him."

"McGee!" Vance barked.

"Director?"

"Make the call."

He swallowed hard and picked up the phone. All eyes were on him. He hit speed dial number two and waited. He paused as he realized what he had just done. Tony was number two on his speed dial. He was even before Abby. He made Tony number two after Tony rescued Maddy and Gibbs from the river. Tony was the only one that he could think of to call when they lost contact with Gibbs. If Tony could save Gibbs, then he was capable of being there for him when he needed him most.

The other line picked up and he heard, "DiNozzo."

Tony knew who it was the second he picked up, his caller id displaying the name the number belonged to. He was hoping this was the apology phone call, but when he heard nothing on the other line accept breathing, his senses went on high alert. His gut clenched. Something was wrong.

"McGee?"

"Yeah...hey, Tony. I um..."

"McGee, what's wrong?"

Tony sounded genuinely concerned for Tim. It made the whole situation press that much harder on his mind. Even after all they had done to him, Tony still cared.

"We...we have a problem. I...we need you to come in."

There was no sound coming from the other line. Tony was waiting for Tim to explain.

"It's about Gibbs."

The line went dead and he stared at the phone. Tony hung up on him. He knew Tony would be pissed, but he never thought he would just hang up on him. He explained to the others what just happened. They thought that Tony would have been more than cooperative. None of them expected him to hang up on McGee, though considering the circumstances, could they blame him?

They were all gathered in the bullpen when they head the elevator ding twenty minutes later. Abby shrieked and ran out of the cubicles. Tony walked with purpose toward them. He had a full cup carrier in one hand and another man following behind him with two more. Abby tackled him, hugging him to within an inch of his life. He managed to keep the drinks from spilling, wrapping his free arm around his gothic princess. He held her tight, feeling her tears on his shoulder. He looked up at the team and saw the helplessness and sorrow. It was going to be a long day.

"Abs. I need you to let go. I need to talk to Tim." Tony said softly.

She stood, kissed his cheek and held onto him a second longer before releasing him. She walked back with him as he continued on to the bullpen. Tony stood before McGee and Ziva. He was quiet a moment. He read the exhaustion on both their faces. He saw the defeat in their eyes. They had no idea what to do. They were at a loss. At this rate, they would be collapsing within the hour.

Tony held up a large cup of coffee to McGee, "Here, thought you could use this."

Tim took the offered cup and just stared at him. He watched as Tony turned to hand Ziva a large cup as well.

"It's Jasmine tea. I figured it would help."

Ziva hesitated, then took the cup from him. She was touched. Jasmine was her favorite tea. It soothed her when she was stressed. He remembered.

"I have coffee for everyone. There will be plenty more. I have a standing order that will be delivered every hour. So, what's going on? What happened to Gibbs?"

After a moment, they sat him down and went over what they had so far. They told him about finding his car with Gibbs blood in it. He remained quiet through the entire explanation.

"We were wondering if you saw Gibbs in the last twenty four hours?" McGee asked.

"I've been staying with him. With everything that was going on, I just really needed a friend. I went to bed around midnight. When I woke, Gibb was gone, the door was locked. He didn't leave a note; I just assumed he went to work. I should have known better. Never assume."

"Okay. Sorry about all this Tony."

"Not your fault, McGee. There was no way that you could've known."

"Thank you, Tony," Ziva said quietly. She looked at him, trying with everything she had in her to stop her tears, "Thank you, for coming in so quickly."

He looked up at her. Her arms were wrapped around her middle. It was a protective pose that she acquired when something troubled her to the point of breaking down. She was at her wits end. She would not last much longer if she continued to hold it all in. Tony stood and walked over to her. She paused before looking up at him. Her eyes were brimmed with tears and her bottom lip quivered.

He looked over her shoulder to see Abby in the same, miserable state. He couldn't stand to see them so upset.

"Ziva..." He said quietly, his voice laced with sympathy.

She cracked, but did not move. Several tears slid down her cheek against her will, but she would not concede. Abby gasped and then she too was crying quietly, but she wouldn't take Ducky's comforting. That wasn't what she wanted.

"It's gonna be okay." Tony reached forward and pulled Ziva into his embrace. She broke the moment her face hit his chest.

He motioned for Abby to come to him and she ran, crashing into his other arm. Her head slid in next to Ziva's and they shared Tony's warmth and love. He hugged them tightly. He kissed the tops of their heads and rocked them side to side.

"We'll find him. It's gonna be okay. Gibbs is strong. He is the toughest agent this agency has. He's going to make it. "

Dr. Mallard and Jimmy smiled. Tony was a natural.

"Tony...you can't promise..."

"I can, McGee. I will. We'll find him." Tony's boss tone was sliding into place as naturally as his ability to console Abby and Ziva did. "Gibbs can handle himself until we can get to him. We'll get to the bottom of this."

McGee nodded his head. Vance watched as Tony all, but took over the investigation.

"Come on, girls. We have work to do. Gibbs would want you doing everything you can to stay positive."

Ziva pulled away, ashamed that she had let it come to this, but was thankful that Tony had been there. McGee would not have been helpful. He always looked like a deer caught in headlights when a woman cried. Abby pulled away, wiped the tears away and saluted.

"You're right, Tony. What do you need me to do?"

"Right now, I need you to go and get food. Knowing you, you haven't eaten yet. Get something for everyone. We're not leaving until Gibbs is home safe. You already went over all the evidence, so right now, there is nothing for you to do."

"But..."

"The second we have something, Abs, I'll call you. I got you on speed dial." Tony held up his phone to show her.

She nodded and walked away, her pigtails swinging with renewed energy.

"Ducky..."

"Yes, Anthony?"

"Go with her. Please."

Ducky nodded. He knew with no body, there wasn't much he could do either. He knew the second there was something new, Tony would call. Jimmy followed his mentor out.

"McGee...show me this number you found."

"Tony, it's a burner phone. It's not going to help us." McGee sighed.

"Let me see it."

McGee pulled up Gibbs cell phone records. The number in question was highlighted. Tony read it over twice, his brow furrowed. Why did that number look so familiar?

He went to his desk, which he saw was now covered in McGee's things. He ignored the gut wrenching pain in his heart and pulled up the computer screen. He did a search in the solved and unsolved file archive for that number. After a few minutes, he got a hit. It was an old case involving drugs. FBI had been involved. Tobias Fornell was the Agent liaison.

"Get FBI on the horn. I want Fornell here yesterday." Tony ordered.

Ziva, falling in to routine, sat down at her desk. Reaching for the phone, she looked at Tony, her eyes questioning.

"That number was used once before as Fornell's undercover burn phone. He gave us the number in case we needed to contact him without blowing his cover. Boss might be on an op."

"Good work, DiNozzo. Keep me appraised." Director Vance said before walking back to his office.

Jessica Keller, who had been watching from the sidelines, came forward. Tony glanced at her, then turned to McGee.

"McGee, make a list of all Gibbs enemies."  
"Why? We already know that whatever happened to Gibbs was because of the case left on his desk."

"Never assume, McGee. It could be that, or it could be someone who wants him dead because of someone else he put away. We'll also look into the idea of him being on an op he hasn't told us about. It wouldn't be the first time. Look up anyone with a grudge against Gibbs going back a year. If nothing pops, go back two."

"Uh, right." Why hadn't he thought of that? They were so focused on the cold case that was lying conveniently on top of Gibbs desk, they forgot the other possibilities for Gibbs disappearance.

"How can I help, Agent DiNozzo?" Keller asked.

He looked at her. "You know how to use a computer and run a trace?"

"Of course, I am an agent."

"Tony, we already looked into Gibbs cell phone remember?" McGee looked puzzled.

"Anyone check his desk phone?" Tony asked.

They shook their heads. They completely forgot.

"Agent Keller. Dub his desk phone and see if he got any calls late last night or early this morning. Anything jumps out at you, let me know."

She nodded and moved to sit at the desk at the end. She pulled up the computer and got to work.

Tony looked at the people around him. This team was all he had, even if they didn't want him around. He could live with their hate. He couldn't live with it if they were taken from him. Gibbs was a part of that. His mind was going crazy over the different scenarios that could have played out to get them where they were now. Gibbs could be unconscious. He could be hurt and alone. He could be being tortured or he could be dead. Taking Gibbs from him was bad enough, Gibbs was a huge part of his life, but taking him away from this team was far worse. They needed Gibbs. He would do whatever he needed to, to bring back their smiles. Finding Gibbs was his only priority, not just for himself, but for them. He couldn't and wouldn't let them down.

He started going over all the evidence in his head. Something that was said before didn't fit, he just couldn't remember what it was. In the middle of his thought, he heard the elevator ding. He looked at his watch and grinned.

Without looking up from the file in his hand, "You're late, Fornell."

Tobias Fornell smiled at Tony with that crooked, knowing grin.

Tony stood and leaned forward on his knuckles, "You want to tell me why you were the last person to call Gibbs' cell phone? You recruiting Gibbs for another one of your undercover stings?"

Fornell didn't say a word.

"Where is he Fornell?" Tony, just barely containing his rage, leaned forward a bit further, bringing him nose to nose with Tobias, "Where the hell is Gibbs?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Fornell grinned, "Nice to see you too, DiNotso. I'm doing well, thanks for asking."

"I'm not in the mood, Fornell. You were the last person to have contact with Gibbs. Where is he?"

"I don't know where you're getting your information," he handed Tony his cell, "See? Check for yourself. I haven't called him since last week."

Frustrated, "Of course not. You don't like to be traced when you have something up your sleeve. Where's your burn phone? The one you were using during our last sting together?"

Tony tossed the cell phone back to its owner.

"Haven't touched it since."

Tony balled his fists on the desk. "Friend or not, Tobias, I will hold you if you refuse to cooperate. No more games." Both Ziva and McGee looked up at him, stunned by his threat, but approving of his tactic. He sounded like Gibbs when Tony was missing or injured. "Gibbs is alone and injured somewhere. I don't care if he is working with you on a secret op or not. I just want to know where he is and if he's okay."

Fornell's eyes softened with sympathy. When Gibbs called him last night, he said he figured out how to fix his team. Last he remembered, Gibbs had used his burn phone to call NCIS during that last sting. What was his ol' buddy up to?

"I swear, DiNozzo, I haven't seen him."

Tony, completely deflated, sighed. Dead end. Fornell wouldn't lie about something as serious as Gibbs' welfare. That phone could have gotten lost or stolen. He slammed his hands on the desk, making everyone in the bull pen stare at him.

"Tony..."

"I'm fine, McGee, keep working."

Noticing the commanding tone, Fornell commented.

"I thought you quit."

"Yeah..." Tony's mind was thinking again.

"Hey, you need anything, anything at all, you let me know."

"Thanks, Tobias."

Fornell felt eyes on him. He turned, looking up, to see the Director staring at him.  
Leon gave him a nod even as he was walking toward his office.

"Guess I'll check in with the Director and offer my help officially."

Tony waved him off. Agent Keller approached him as Fornell retreated.

"I have something I think need you to..."

He waved her off too, "Show McGee. I got something else I need to look into."

She walked over to show Tim what she found, warily eyeing Ziva.

"I found a voice recording on Gibbs voice mail you need to hear."

McGee dropped what he was doing and slipped his headphones on to listen. He listened carefully, his eyes widening every second. He threw his headphones down on his desk and approached Ziva angrily.

"So it was you!"

Completely confused, Ziva looked up at him, her confusion clear on her face.

"What was me?"

"You did something to Gibbs!" He pulled her up by the front of her shirt.

Tony stopped what he was doing, coming around the desk in a flash.

"How could you even accuse me of..."  
"Care to explain this then?"

McGee clicked his remote and the voicemail played out loud for the room to hear.

_**'Gibbs, I wanted to make one thing clear. I understand that you are furious with us right now. I am well aware that you miss Tony and think he is the only man for the job, but Tony has officially stepped down. You will need to choose one of us to be Senior Field Agent. I know that McGee has been with you longer, but I am far more experienced. I do not care what I have to do to make you understand that. I will do anything I have to do, to ensure that I have the new SFA position. Do not underestimate me, Gibbs. It will certainly be the last time you do. That is all I have to say. I will see you at work tomorrow. Goodbye.'**_

__"You just couldn't let him make up his own mind. You'll do anything you have to for that position. Gibbs wouldn't pick you, so what, you decided you'll torture him a little until he gives in? You just decide that now you're going to call the shots?"

"Tim, that was...I would never hurt...I merely meant that..."

"Shut up! I don't care what excuse you have."

Tony broke in, separating the two, "Hold it. Now, that's enough."

"But you heard that message."

"Enough. No one, and I repeat, no one on this team would ever hurt Gibbs."

"She said she would do anything."

"McGee, you know Ziva. You know me. You know everyone on this team. You know them like you know yourself. No one would ever hurt Gibbs."

McGee, forcing himself to calm down, stared at Ziva. She looked completely appalled by his accusation.

"You're tired and frustrated. You're scared and unsure. Gibbs has been missing a long time now. Your mind is trying to find an answer, regardless of whether you believe in that answer or not. Just relax. I told you we would find him and we will."

"You're right. I'm...I'm sorry, Ziva."

"It is alright. I suppose if you had left a similar message and I found it, I would believe the same thing. Apology accepted."

"I think you two need a break. You've been at this for hours. Abby should be back with food soon. Hit the head, take some time. Eat, relax your eyes for an hour. I'll keep at it."

"You'll need help. We can't rest now."

"This isn't negotiable. Go. I've only been at this an hour so far. You need to relax and clear your head." When they just stared at him, he narrowed his eyes, Gibbs style, "Now. Go."

They walked off and headed toward Abby's lab. They would nap there and eat before returning to it. They knew they had no choice. He would check with Abby and she never lied to him.

Keller and Tony watched them leave. She turned to him.

"How can you be so calm?"

"It's my training. Gibbs training doesn't leave a lot of room for panic or error. We'll find him."

"But that message. She **IS** a former Mossad assassin. She has the means, the motive and the opportunity."

"Agent Keller, have you ever belonged to a team?"

"Belonged, no. Operated on one for a mission or case, yes. I do not belong to an official team. I am bounced around where needed."

"Then you can't understand. This team has always been solid. I know that Ziva is the new agent, but she has been here long enough to grow attached. She is more attached to Gibbs than she is to either me or McGee. You heard it yourself during sessions. Gibbs means too much to her to hurt him. No one on this team is capable of hurting Gibbs. When you belong to a team like this one, you become closer than blood. We're all partners, but we're family too."

"Those partners, as you call them, left you high and dry. You were forced to quit because they think so little of you."

Tony visibly flinched. That left a scar.

"I know. They don't think much of me, but I would never, not for one second, think that they would put me in danger or leave me without cover."

Keller was impressed. No matter what his team, his friends, thought of him or done to him during those sessions, he still held them in high respects. He still trusted them. He still loved them like family.

Upstairs, in Vance's office, Fornell stood watching the monitor. The bull pen was on full screen and the sound on so they could hear everything. Beside him, Vance and the individual in question stood admiring Tony's leadership skills.

"So, exactly how far are you going to take this? You know DiNozzo is going to be pissed when he figures this all out?"

Gibbs, who was completely unharmed and grinning, "As far as I need to take it. I need to make sure that it's sunk in. I** expect** DiNozzo to figure it out. I made it just deceiving and hard enough to require the need to call him in. If they can't learn from this...I'll have to make major changes to my team."

"And you knew all about this?" Fornell looked accusingly at the director.

"He called me early this morning. Told me all about how DiNozzo had given him the idea without realizing it."

Fornell gave him a strange look.

"Tony said last night, that they didn't **need** Tony, but that they **needed** me. The idea just clicked in my brain. What if they didn't have me? What would happen if I weren't around?"

"I see. Hope this doesn't blow up in your face, Gibbs. Not that I wouldn't enjoy the show." Fornell chuckled.

"I can only hope that my team learns and grows stronger. I'll apologize later."

Down in the bull pen, Tony worked tirelessly at Gibbs desk. It felt so wrong, sitting there. It felt very similar to how he felt when Gibbs left for Mexico several years ago. He had gone to Gibbs house every week just to see if his mentor snuck home without telling anyone. Gibbs didn't even lock the door then. Tony assumed that meant he would eventually be returning.

Tony smacked his forehead. The door was locked this morning when he went out for his daily run. Gibbs never locked the door. Never. Not even while he was in Mexico. Something didn't feel right. Something was off. He went over the crime scene report. There was blood in Gibbs car.

'Don't assume, DiNozzo. Verify everything.' He thought to himself, reciting one of his mentor's rules.

He called down to Abby.

"What's up Tony?"

"I want you to rerun the blood from Gibbs' car."

"Why?"

"Something is off about this whole thing. Don't just run it to find a match. We already know it is Gibbs' blood. I want you to run any other test you can think of. I mean, run everything. Something is off about it."

"Okay. You want me to wake the other two?"

"No, let them sleep a little yet."

"You got it, temporary Boss."She giggled when she could practically hear him smile at her joke.

Tony rechecked his financials. Nothing was used or moved in the last several hours. Nothing. Anyone who took Gibbs would most likely use a card for something, even if just for supplies. His gut was churning. Something was definitely wrong with this whole thing.

An hour later, Ducky came around the corner, looking tired and anxious.

"How are you doing, dear boy?"

"I'm fine, Ducky. I sent Tim and Ziva to get some rest."

"They have been working this all day."

"Yeah. Anything about this case seem weird to you Ducky?"

"No, although now that you mention it, something weird did happen last night."

"What?"

"My morgue vault was broken into last night."

"What do you keep in there?"

"Personal information, files and things for each of you. I am your personal physician. Not just you, but the whole team, Abby and Mr. Palmer included."

A light bulb went off in Tony's head, "You keep viles from our blood tests in there?"

"Yes, and that was the only thing taken. One vile from each file."

"Thanks Ducky. You just broke this case wide open. Gibbs is alive."

"Tony...Tony...Tony...Tony!"

"What do ya got Abs?"

"I would venture to guess a caffeine high." Tim said coming around the corner, Ziva in tow.

"You were right about the blood."

"Yeah?"

"It's been tested. It's already been separated. The blood was planted."

"And I think I know by who."

McGee and Ziva were now wide awake. Tony had figured out who took Gibbs. He was just amazing. They had been at the case for hours and hours, he'd only be at it for a few. He really was a good investigator.

"Okay, campfire."

They didn't protest. They pulled their chairs around their desks and joined them in the middle. They stared at Tony, who looked frustrated.

He shook his head. He couldn't believe Gibbs would do something like this. Teaching the team a lesson was one thing, deceiving them into thinking he was hurt or dead was cruel.

"Okay, Gibbs is alive. He set this up."

"What?"

"You cannot be serious? This is your big breakthrough, Tony?"

"Just hear me out. I came in here worried sick about you guys. I thought this was real too. When I left the house I relocked the door and came straight here to help."

"Yeah so?"

"I **relocked **the door. McGee, Gibbs never locks the door. Ever. You were with me that one night while he was on his sabbatical. It wasn't even locked then. Why would it be this morning?"

"I do not understand."

"It was a clue, Ziva. Something that might not mean anything to most people, but is very significant to us...to Gibbs."

"He has a point Ziva. Gibbs never locks his house."

"The blood in the car is faked. It was planted. Just a couple of drops was enough to get you guys all worried and freaking out. I had Abby retest it. It's been separated. That happens when its tested during our physicals. Ducky just told me that his personal vault was broken into last night. He keeps all our medical files there, including the viles from our blood tests. One of each was taken."

"Only someone with NCIS access could get in there at anytime. Only someone who knows Ducky could crack that code to get into that vault."

"Exactly, Probie. Only someone from this team. I thought it was too convenient that a cold case with the location was simply laid on his desk for you to find. It's just too obvious."

"So you think Gibbs did all this?" Ziva asked.

"I do. He was talking to me last night about how he could get you both to change your minds and appreciate my place on the team."

Their eyes went wide. Gibbs set them up. Ziva was right from the beginning.

"He...he will not even give us a chance. He wants you, Tony."

"He wants the whole team. He doesn't want anything about our team to change. I'm afraid part of this is my fault."

They looked to him, stunned, "I made a comment last night that he gives me far too much credit. You guys don't like how I operate and you didn't need me. You only needed Gibbs, not me, to be happy on this team. I think he found a way to show you what would happen if he wasn't here."

Realization hit them at the same time, "We called you in," they chimed in unison.

Tony nodded his head. Then he noticed movement above them. He nodded in the direction of the stairs. Gibbs, the director and Fornell were descending together.

"Gibbs!" Abby shrieked and threw herself at him. After the hug, she punched him in the arm.

"Don't you ever do that again!"

"Never again." He promised.

He looked at his team. Tony was frowning. He would have to explain himself and apologize later. Ziva and Tim were shocked.

"Gibbs...this was uncalled for."

"Ziva's right, you didn't have to do all this." McGee agreed.

"I did. I needed you to see what it was like not having Tony on the team. I told him to quit. I wanted to see how you would change when Tony wasn't around. You didn't seem to get it. So, I thought of a way to make you understand what not having him around would be like. You both need Tony on this team. I need all three of you. Abby,Ducky and Palmer need you three on this team. This team falls apart without all its pieces."

"I...I have to admit that it was easier after Tony was around. I was stressing out and I couldn't stay calm. I did not really get to deal with what I was feeling, not until Tony was here. Tim is a wonderful person, but he does not handle crying women well. Tony knows just what to say and how to handle my pain and my stress. He let me...be me. I can honestly say that...I was grateful to have him here when we were hurting and missing you."

"And I gotta admit that when Tony came around and took over the investigation, I was relieved. It's a lot to do and remember. I wasn't handling being the boss very well. I couldn't seem to take control and be there for everyone when I myself was scared and freaking out. I even blew up and accused Ziva. Tony would never do that. He reminded me that everyone here on this team was family and we wouldn't hurt each other."

They turned to Tony, "We're sorry, Tony."

"That's what I was hoping to hear. I knew that you two would figure it out. Tony is not a one man team. We are a team together. We are family. I know I messed up a lot when I went away, but this team is all we got. Tim, you are the only person here I trust to find a clue in the computers and highly technical areas of our investigations. You are extremely vital to this team and to our investigations. We would not have solved half these cases if not for your technical prowess and dedication, however, you are not ready to be SFA. You will one day, and Tony will help you get there, but not yet. I would never lie to you. You are a fine agent, and one day you may even run this place. I just want you to work on the here and now."

"Yes, Boss. I'm sorry, Boss."

"Ziva. You have given this team new resources. You speak a dozen languages. You have training that goes beyond anything we teach here at NCIS. You help us get contacts and connections in other countries. You are vital to this team. You also give us the female advantage. You are stealthy and quick. You are great investigator, but you too are also not ready to be SFA. You are trained and highly skilled, but you don't think like Tony. You don't always have the big picture in mind when you make decisions. You're all about being in the moment and don't always think about what might happen to those around you, what may happen in court, or to the other potential victims. You don't even really think about how your own actions might affect **you** later. I need you on this team just as much as I need McGee and Tony. Abby and Ducky and Palmer need you too. This is family"

"I am sorry, Gibbs. I should look at things from a bigger perspective."

"I'm glad to hear that. I was worried I was going to have to make some very unwanted changes to this team. We will talk and continue to work on any issues you have. I want you to come to me from now on when things bug you. I don't want this to ever happen again. You got that?"

"Yes, Boss." The pair chimed.

"DiNozzo, you are reinstated. I want that desk back the way it was. Even I gotta admit, I missed you not being here. It's odd walking by that desk and you not in it."

Tony inclined his head thankfully, but he still glared at Gibbs.

"Alright Tony, let me have it."

"I get that you needed to teach them a lesson, but this was way, way, way outta line. You made us think you were in trouble. We thought you were seriously hurt, or even dead. You know what that feels like, and you still went through with it!"

"I had to. There was no other way I could think of to make them see."

"Don't ever do that again! I would rather quit the team than ever have to go through that again."

"I'm sorry, Tony. It was just this once. I promised I would let you in more, and I will. No more going out on my own and no more deceiving."

"Good." Tony said, hugging Gibbs. Then he joined his partners, Abby and Palmer.

"Well you did it Gibbs. How do you feel?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah, how do you feel about all this?"

"Like a proud father, Tobias." He smiled as he watched the newly restored comradary between his three agents.

"I take it this means Ms. Keller will be leaving us?" Ducky asked.

"I'll have her shipped back to FBI immediately. In fact, why don't you take her with you Fornell?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Agent Gibbs."

"Agent Keller."

"It was nice meeting you and your team, though I can't say I enjoyed my stay. You people are rather difficult to work with. I'll write up my report for SecNav. Don't worry, he has nothing to worry about. Take care of yourself, Agent Gibbs."

"Talk to you later, Jethro." Tobias said, leading Agent Keller out of the building.

"Now things can get back to normal around here." Vance said, slipping the toothpick back in his mouth as he returned to his office.

"Normal indeed." Ducky said, then joined the smiling team.

Gibbs stood watching his family. He was glad no changes had to be made. He would take special care to make sure that he caught everything from now on. This team, this family meant the world to him. He would never let anything threaten what they had again. Not even themselves.

They looked to him and he joined them. This was home.


End file.
